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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25017019">More Than Moonlight</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gryffin_Duck/pseuds/Gryffin_Duck'>Gryffin_Duck</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dungeons &amp; Dragons (Roleplaying Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Elves, Magic, Original Werewolf Culture, Physical Disability, Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, Werewolves, original d&amp;d campaign, syngorn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:28:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>35,188</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25017019</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gryffin_Duck/pseuds/Gryffin_Duck</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“You’re putting ideas in that girl’s head again, Carric.”</p><p>“I’m doing no such thing. I’m teaching her to fight, that’s all. The girl has no magic, Meriele.” </p><p>“She has no need to fight. She’s got a lot more to worry about than how to properly wield a scimitar and shoot a target.” </p><p>“She’s been fighting her whole life. She needs to be strong, because the whole world is going to tell her she isn’t.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“You’re putting ideas in that girl’s head again, Carric.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“I’m doing no such thing. I’m teaching her to fight, that’s all. The girl has no magic, Meriele.” </i>
</p><p>
  <i>“She has no need to fight. She’s got a lot more to worry about than how to properly wield a scimitar and shoot a target.” </i>
</p><p>
  <i>“She’s been fighting her whole life. She needs to be strong, because the whole world is going to tell her she isn’t.” </i>
</p><p>***</p><p>Arie Siannodel was nine the first time she wielded a sword. Prior to that she learned to shoot a longbow and how to properly stab something (or someone) with various sized knives, but the sword was off-limits until her ninth birthday. That was thirteen years ago, but Arie still remembered the warmth that radiated through her body and the faint pulse she felt from the sword. It was exhilarating and exactly what she thought magic was supposed to feel like, had she had any. </p><p>Arie also distinctly remembered the look on her mother’s face when her father handed her the sword. It was the same look Arie and her father got whenever Arie worked on her training. Meriele Siannodel did not believe being a fighter was a good career choice for a proper young lady. Arie’s father was always quick to remind her mother that Arie wasn’t going to be a fighter, she was merely training as one. Meriele failed to see the difference. </p><p>Neither did Arie, if she was being honest. </p><p>Still, as much as her mother disapproved, she never forbade Arie from training, no matter the weapon, because it made Arie happy. Whether it stemmed from guilt or something else, Arie’s parents tended to let her do as she pleased. </p><p>Guilt, however, was not an emotion common in Syngornian Elves. Arie knew this from watching other Syngornian Elf parents, whose elven children would occasionally beg for some toy or to jump in a fountain, and the parents would simply say ‘no’ and go about their days. The world did not revolve around children in Syngorn. Elven children were simply elves that weren’t quite ready yet. </p><p>Arie suspected her own parents’ guilt stemmed from a day Arie herself did not remember. The day of her own birth. Arie knew very little about childbirth, being an only child, but she knew that her own birth had been tumultuous. Her mother and father had spared her the gory details, but what they had told her was that she had gotten the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. This cut off her air supply and thus she didn’t take her first breath until too long after she was born, resulting in some sort of brain damage.</p><p>This particular variety of brain damage resulted in her brain being unable to communicate properly with her legs. This meant her legs were weak and she had to use crutches to walk. </p><p>For the first few years of her life, Arie saw every healer in Syngorn (and a few others throughout Tal’Dorei) and took dozens of potions and had dozens of spells cast upon her, but to no avail. Nothing could touch the damage, and Arie’s weak legs remained weak. The healers were stumped, as none of them had come across anything that couldn’t be “fixed” by magic.</p><p>But what made her even more of an enigma in Syngorn was the fact that she had no magic whatsoever. Healers were just as flummoxed by this, if not more so, as magic is as common to Syngornian Elves as haughtiness. </p><p>Arie didn’t mind the crutches. She didn’t mind that her legs didn’t work quite right. But magic? It wasn’t that she wanted it. Magic just felt weird, if not downright uncomfortable, to her. What she really wanted, more than anything, was for magic not to set her apart from the rest of the elves.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Verdant Guard</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“They’ll grow with you, Arie, see?” Carric Siannodel said excitedly as he stuck a circular disc of wood onto the bottom of one of the freshly made crutches and showed it to Arie.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Arie looked at it, noticing how the peg on the disc fit snugly into the hole her father had drilled in the bottom of the crutch. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>“And I’ll make you a brand new pair once you stop growing. Fresh and shiny, with whatever wood you’d like.”</i>
</p><p>Arie paused at the corner of Sunset Road and Kearmack Lane to peer down Kearmack Lane toward her parents’ shop. The Whimsical Crate sat between a florist and a tavern, the latter of which was mostly frequented by older elves. And by “older elves,” Arie meant old elves. The types of elves found in that tavern were upwards of 600 years old and had seen and done everything and then again twice over. Arie, who was only 22, had never set foot inside the place. </p><p>The Whimsical Crate, however, she knew like the back of her hand. As a very young child, Arie spent more time in the shop than she did in the flat above the shop, where she lived with her parents until she was six. Even after they moved to the quaint cottage just outside the city walls, Arie spent most of her days tooling around the shop, tinkering with various things while her parents created the enchanted wooden objects they were famous for in Syngorn. </p><p>A gaggle of older elven women approached the street corner and Arie pressed herself against the building behind her, a smiths’ shop specializing in horseshoes (for both practical and impractical purposes, the sign claimed). The women lowered their voices as they passed, bending their heads toward each other as they whispered. Two of them glanced at Arie quickly, before returning to their conversations.</p><p>Arie sighed. There was no business like other people’s business seemed to be the motto in Syngorn. As much as Syngornian elves had a reputation for being stuck-up and hauty throughout the rest of Tal’Dorei, everyone who lived in Syngorn knew they were just a bunch of gossips, especially the older elves. </p><p>Arie peeled herself off the wall and watched as the group of elves entered the tavern next to her parents’ shop. Surely they were all about to tell the rest of the patrons about how they saw the “magic-less elf with crutches” on their way in.</p><p>Being the only magic-less elf with crutches in Syngorn, Arie was used to people whispering about her, but it didn’t make her like it. It was why she rarely frequented the more reputable parts of Syngorn and stuck with the seedier underbelly (even Syngorn had a seedy underbelly, although most High Elves would deny its existence). No one in The Demon and Hound ever gave Arie’s crutches a second glance. </p><p>But once a day Arie walked through the city to Beryl Keep and watched the Verdant Guard training in the square. Most of the time the Verdant Guard trained inside the Keep, away from prying eyes, but once a day they ventured outside and did a demonstration in the square, presumably to remind the rest of Syngorn of their might. </p><p>The quickest way to Beryl Keep from Arie’s cottage was straight through the city. She would’ve preferred walking outside the city, but it doubled the length of time and there was no real path. Maneuvering crutches through overgrown brush and fallen logs was not an easy task. </p><p>And so, once a day Arie endured the stares of her fellow High Elves and walked the streets until she reached the square outside of Beryl Keep and situated herself on a bench with a book. She pretended to read while the Guard were demonstrating, even though she didn’t particularly like reading. She always mixed the letters up. Then she stuck around for about an hour afterward to keep up the illusion that it was mere coincidence that she was there during the demonstration. </p><p>But instead of reading, Arie peered above her book and watched as the elves marched in unison, drawing their swords, scimitars, and longbows, waving them in complicated synchronized movements. She watched as acting Verdant Lord Celindar led the group, shouting commands in a voice that somehow carried through the entire square. Arie suspected it was aided by magic. </p><p>The soldiers were magnificent and Arie never grew tired of watching them. She wanted to join them. She wanted to <i>be</i> one of them. </p><p>The Verdant Guard always marched onto the square at exactly eleven o’clock and finished their demonstration at exactly eleven-thirty. Hardly anyone ever stopped to watch and anyone who did was always a visitor to Syngorn. No one who lived in Syngorn watched the soldiers. No one except Arie. </p><p>Arie turned a page in her book as acting Verdant Lord Celindar and one of the two generals always accompanying him led the soldiers off the square and back toward Beryl Keep. The second general walked in the opposite direction, toward Arie.</p><p>Arie’s heart quickened as she raised her book a little higher. Had she been found out? But even if she had, it wasn’t illegal to sit in the square and watch the demonstration. That was the whole point of the demonstration, for people to watch it, even if no one did. </p><p>But the general walked right past her. Arie watched him as he went. He was tall, even taller than her father, and spry. Age was difficult to judge in elves. An elf could just as easily be 140 as they could be 440. Very young elves were always easy to spot, as were ones that were 600 or more. But the ones in between were difficult. This particular general fell into that category. He wore the green and silver uniform of the Verdant Guard, but his was decorated with a great many more medals and pins than the average soldier. His hair, unlike most male elves, was sheared close to his head beneath his silver cap. Two shiny swords were holstered in his belt. </p><p>Arie watched as the general walked toward a noticeboard in the square. Arie knew this noticeboard. People usually plastered it with papers advertising tutors, things for sale, and lost cats. Curious, Arie lowered her book. The general produced a hammer and presumably a nail and stuck a flyer to the board. He then walked away, toward Beryl Keep, without looking back. </p><p>It took the general precisely three minutes to disappear into Beryl Keep, but Arie waited a full ten minutes before shoving her book into her backpack, settling her arms into her crutches, and walking to the noticeboard. </p><p>The wind blew Arie’s blonde hair into her face as she went. She shook her head in an attempt to get it back into place, but had to stop and lean against a tree as she hastily put it back into a messy braid. Readjusting her crutches, she continued toward the noticeboard.</p><p>There, smack in the middle and covering a few faded flyers of lost cats, was a two-foot by two-foot sign with the Verdant Guard logo upon it. Seeing that logo always made Arie’s heart quicken and this was no exception. The two swords forming a V were as large as her face. But what was below the logo sped Arie’s heart up even more.</p><p>VERDANT GUARD SEEKS TWENTY ELVES TO JOIN THEIR RANKS<br/>INTERESTED PARTIES BETWEEN THE AGES OF 20 AND 100 MAY <br/>REQUEST AN APPLICATION AT THE GOVERNMENT CENTER. <br/>*MUST PASS PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND ACADEMIC EXAMS*</p><p>The Verdant Guard was seeking new soldiers, Arie thought. That only happened once every twenty years at the most. Most members of the Verdant Guard stayed there for life, or at least until they were 400 or so. Because of that, the Verdant Guard rarely needed new soldiers. Arie couldn’t remember a time when they’d advertised for new recruits. But there it was, in brilliant green and silver, plastered over people’s lost cat flyers. The Verdant Guard was recruiting.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Whimsical Crate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“She has no magic, Meriele,” Carric said. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>“That’s impossible. It must not have shown up yet. Two High Elves can’t produce a child without magic,” Meriele reasoned. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Magic doesn’t just ‘show up’ in High Elves. It’s either there or it isn’t. She’s two. It isn’t a matter of it showing up or not.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“What the hell are we supposed to do, then?” Meriele snapped.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“We keep quiet. No one’s noticed her legs yet.”</i>
</p><p><i>“Yet,” Meriele muttered.</i> </p><p>Arie wandered slowly back to the Tarn Ward, where The Whimsical Crate was located, thinking about the Verdant Guard. For as much and as long as she had admired them, Arie knew very little about the Guard other than the fact that they were the highly respected guards of Syngorn. She knew a few thousand of the Guard lived and worked in Syngorn while another few thousand were stationed throughout Tal’Dorei. They were known throughout the continent for their intense and precise training and methodical defense. The Verdant Guard were, as their name suggested, a Guard. They did not work on the offense. </p><p>But beyond that, the Guard were a mystery. Arie, like all young Syngornian Elves, was homeschooled. Given that less than a dozen elves were approved for procreation a year, there weren’t enough young elves to start a formal school. Many elven parents joined forces and schooled their children in turns, but Arie’s parents were keen on keeping their distance. </p><p>They were also much more learned in the arts than any other subject and Arie’s own education reflected that. She learned basic math, science, and history, but knew far more than other elves of her age about the intricacies of woodcarving. She even knew the basics of magic, even though she could not do it herself. </p><p>As for The Verdant Guard, Arie’s parents taught her a rudimentary understanding. Enough for any average elf living in or around Syngorn. This, however, was not enough for an elf in wanting to join the Guard.</p><p> Arie returned to Kearmack Lane and paused across the street from The Whimsical Crate. It had been her favorite place as a child. Filled with all sorts of wooden creations animated by magic, like the squirrel nutcracker and the woodpecker that hammered holes for hanging pictures at the drop of a spell. But by far her favorite was the animated wooden duck that could somehow spread its wings and fly around the room, then fold them back up again and swim in the bathtub, dabbling its beak into the water as it went. </p><p>But now every time Arie went to the shop she felt like her stomach was dropping out of her body. It dawned on her a few months ago that she, Arie, was supposed to have inherited the shop. </p><p>Most elves who became parents did so somewhere between 200 and 300. The thinking behind this was at this age elves would have had enough life experience to pass along to their child, as well as have gotten most of their wanderlust out of their systems. Yet it would also give them a few hundred years after their child grew up to enjoy without being tied down by familial responsibilities. </p><p>Not all elves became parents, of course. And any elves wishing to become parents in Syngorn had to apply and were generally only allowed one child. This was to keep the population in Syngorn at a reasonable level. Arie knew that her parents had applied and were approved to have a child when they were in their late 200s. It took them until they were in their early 500s to conceive. </p><p>A few months ago Arie overheard a conversation between two elves in a pub who were applying to have a child. The two were discussing one of the questions on the application, which asked why they wanted to have a child. Love, it seemed, was not a suitable answer. Prospective parents had to explain how their potential child would contribute to society.</p><p>From there it was not a far leap for Arie to make as to what her parents would have put for that question. Arie learned as a young child just how popular her parents’ enchanted wood carvings were. Travelers came from far and wide to buy them and both Arie’s mother and father had months-long waiting lists for custom orders. </p><p>But what would happen when they passed on? It hit Arie then, in the middle of that seedy pub (Arie had a feeling this couple would be denied, because why would this couple be in a seedy pub filling out this application if they were to be approved?), that her parents were approved to have a child because that child would be expected to inherit The Whimsical Crate and continue Carric and Meriele Siannodel’s work. </p><p>“Are you okay, Miss?”</p><p>Arie jolted out of her thoughts and looked to her right, where a hooded figure stood. He (or she? Arie couldn’t tell because of the cloak) had their head cocked and was looking at Arie. </p><p>“Fine,” Arie muttered. </p><p>The figure nodded toward the shop, which Arie realized she must’ve been staring at. </p><p>“They’ll let you go in and look, even if you can’t afford anything. Bloody brilliant stuff in there.”</p><p>Arie nodded and swallowed hard. “Yeah. Bloody brilliant.”</p><p>The figure shrugged and continued down the street, leaving Arie alone with her thoughts once more. Sighing, she crossed the street, dodging a stray cat, and walked into The Whimsical Crate. </p><p>The shop, like always, was filled with tables and tables of wares. Arie’s parents liked keeping it busy, with various creations set haphazardly in no particular order. Her father insisted that allowed customers to browse everything, rather than going immediately to one spot. Customers, he believed, rarely knew what they really wanted until they saw it. </p><p>The workspace was in the back of the shop, behind a waist-high wooden ledge intricately carved with a forest scene that was enchanted to move like a real forest. The trees and grass waved with a fake wind, the animals ran around the ground, and the birds flew in the trees. </p><p>Behind the ledge were two large work tables and a couple smaller desks. Various carving tools and half-finished projects were scattered over one of the large tables. The second table was immaculately clean, hardly a wood shaving scattered upon it. The tools were organized by size and task, and three projects sat with generous space between them. Arie smiled when she saw this, as she always did. Her father worked messy. Her mother was immaculately neat. </p><p>One of the desks belonged to their apprentice, an elven boy Arie knew to be a few years older than she was. His name was Elwin Miralar. His dark hair, which had a slight wave to it, unusual for elves, contrasted her own, but his eyes were gray. Arie’s parents had taken him on a few months ago and he’d just recently been allowed to start making his own creations. </p><p>While her parents never came out and said it, Arie knew that Elwin was there because she would be unable to work in the shop. </p><p>Arie rested her arms on the ledge and let her crutches dangle. The ledge was about chest-high on her because she was so short. Elwin hadn’t noticed her. He was diligently carving a piece of oak. Arie’s father sat at his own table, but his back was to Arie.</p><p>A few minutes passed and then her mother emerged from the back storage room, her arms filled with a few blocks of wood. </p><p>“Arie,” she said, looking up. “I didn’t know you were stopping by today.”</p><p>Arie shrugged as she adjusted her backpack. “I was around so I figured I’d stop by.”</p><p>Carric spun around on his stool. “Arie,” he said, grinning. “Are we still on for training later?”</p><p>“Of course,” Arie said.</p><p>“Arie, dear, you look pale,” Meriele said, looking up from her work. “What have you been doing all day?”</p><p>Arie sighed. She always looked pale. She simply was pale. “Nothing. Just wandering around.”</p><p>“You ought to go home and rest, especially if you’re training later,” Meriele said. </p><p>“Fine,” Arie muttered. Sometimes it was easier just to do as her mother asked, rather than argue. Most times it was, actually.</p><p>Elwin looked up from his work and caught Arie’s eye. She smiled at him before saying goodbye to her parents and leaving the shop.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Demon and Hound</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“We’ll teach her ourselves,” Meriele said. “What other choice do we have? She can’t join one of the learning groups if she can’t do magic.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Those groups are for more than just academic learning,” Carric pointed out.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“And it wouldn’t take long for her to be singled out by the others as the weird one who can’t even do the simplest of spells. We’ll teach her ourselves,” Meriele said. </i>
</p><p>As much as Arie enjoyed watching the Verdant Guard practice in the mornings, her favorite time in Syngorn was the night, just after sunset. At this time of night the haughtiest of elves had retired to their homes or gone to others’ for parties where they tried to one-up each other. Those who did remain out and about tended to mind more of their own business after sunset.</p><p>Arie spent most nights wandering the streets of Syngorn, checking out the seedier pubs and shops. Syngorn rarely slept since elves rarely slept, and most shops didn’t even open until later in the day. </p><p>It was her parents’ schedule that allowed Arie to wander Syngorn at night. Carric and Meriele opened the shop in the early evening and worked until the wee hours of the morning.</p><p>On that particular night Arie knew exactly where she was headed. The Demon and Hound. The Demon and Hound wasn’t the seediest of pubs in Syngorn, but it wasn’t a place one would find high class elves. It catered mostly to the non-elven citizens and travelers who were passing through. Arie liked it because no one looked at her twice. It was also one of the rare places in Syngorn that served meat. Arie was particularly fond of the dragon they served.</p><p>When Arie walked in she saw it was doing a decent business that night. A few half-orcs sat laughing and taking huge gulps of beer at a corner table. Two dwarves and a halfling sat a few tables away, doing shots of some sort of smoking liquid. There were a half dozen or so others scattered about, as well as Conga, the human innkeeper, standing behind the bar. </p><p>Arie ordered hot toddy and Conga carried it to her table without asking. That’s what Arie liked about Conga. She didn’t make mention of Arie’s crutches, but realized that it would be impossible to carry a hot drink and maneuver crutches at the same time.</p><p>The table Arie chose wasn’t empty. It was occupied by an elven boy with dark curly hair and gray eyes. He was sipping a beer and reading a book. He was the reason Arie chose The Demon and Hound that night. There wasn’t a night Arie had gone to The Demon and Hound that Elwin hadn’t been there. </p><p>“Arie?” Elwin asked, furrowing his brow as he looked up from his book.</p><p>“How many other elves do you know with crutches?” Arie said, smirking.</p><p>Elwin shrugged. “You never know. I just didn’t expect to see you here of all places. Your parents-”</p><p>“I’m 22. I don’t need my parents’ approval to go to a pub and have a drink,” Arie interrupted. Elwin was not that much older than her and he, like most elves their age, did not require parental approval of everything he did. </p><p>Arie didn’t know Elwin well, but she’d talked with him a few times since her parents hired him a few months ago. </p><p>“You’re 22?” Elwin asked. “I thought you were younger. You weren’t in the Llewel Learning Group, were you?”</p><p>“No,” Arie said. “I wasn’t in one at all. Is that the one you were in?”</p><p>Elwin nodded. “There were two kids your age in it, but you didn’t seem familiar when we met.”</p><p>“Well, maybe you’ve figured it out by now, but I can’t do magic,” Arie said. “So my parents didn’t see much point in me being in a group of kids learning about magic.”</p><p>Elwin set his glass down. “I wondered why your parents hired me as an apprentice when they’ve got you. I thought maybe it had to do with…” His voice trailed off and he nodded toward Arie’s crutches.</p><p>While Arie’s brain damage mostly affected her legs, it did affect her hands to some extent. Intricate, fine-motor tasks were difficult. She could execute an attack with a knife, scimitar, or sword easily. She could manage a longbow like it was an extension of her body. But tying shoes or doing buttons? Nearly impossible. And her parents taught her the basics of woodcarving, but the finer intricacies of using the small tools for it were extremely difficult.</p><p>“It’s all connected,” Arie said before taking a sip of her hot toddy. </p><p>“Gotcha.” Elwin took another sip of his drink.</p><p>Arie was grateful he didn’t ask a dozen follow-up questions. “So...you have a brother in the Verdant Guard, don’t you?”</p><p>Elwin nodded. It was extremely rare for Syngornian Elves to have siblings, but somehow Elwin’s parents had been granted permission for a second child. “Iefr. He joined the last time they took on recruits. I was just a little kid at the time.”</p><p>That’s what Arie thought, but Elwin was still her closest connection to the Guard. “Do you remember anything about the application process?”</p><p>“Not much. Why, you want to join?” he asked, laughing.</p><p>“Yes,” Arie said, seriously.</p><p>Elwin choked on his beer and started coughing. He set down the glass and looked at her, his face red. “You’re joking.”</p><p>“I’m not,” Arie said, her face heating up. “If you saw me with a scimitar you wouldn’t question it.”</p><p>“But you’re...you’re…” he said, looking pointedly at Arie’s crutches. </p><p>“Having crappy legs doesn’t prevent me from knowing exactly how to slice someone’s throat to kill or to simply injure. Nor does it prevent me from doing it. I’ve been training since I was a kid.”</p><p>“To join the Verdant Guard?”</p><p>“No, not exactly. Just...training. My dad always says I’ll have the whole world telling me I’m not strong enough, so I might as well prove them wrong whenever I can.”</p><p>“That...that...makes a lot of sense,” Elwin said, running a hand through his hair. “But the Guard, Arie? Damn. You know they’re the most well-trained Guard in Tal’Dorei, right? Their training is intense. A third of the recruits don’t make it a year.”</p><p>“What, they die?” </p><p>“No, they quit,” Elwin said. “They can’t take the training. It’s exhausting. It’s physically demanding. Whenever Iefr came home on leave he’d sleep half the day. Legitimately sleep, not meditate. And Iefr is so brawny most people don’t even assume we’re related.”</p><p>“I’m stronger than I look,” Arie said. </p><p>Elwin held up his hands. “I’m just telling you what I know. Look, Iefr has a day off coming up. Do you want me to ask if he’ll talk with you?”</p><p>“Yes,” Arie said. “Please.”</p><p>Elwin nodded. “Okay. I’ll ask him.”</p><p>“Don’t...don’t tell him about the crutches,” Arie said quietly. “Just tell him I’m a friend who’s interested in joining. I don’t want him to think it’s a waste of time.”</p><p>“He wouldn’t. But I won’t tell him,” Elwin said. </p><p>“Thank you,” Arie said.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Iefr Miralar</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“Why would a wizard from Emon be any better than a wizard from Syngorn?” Meriele asked, sighing.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“He says he knows a new spell. What’s the harm in trying?” Carric said.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“You’ll get her hopes up again.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Then we’ll call it a vacation. We can close the shop for a few weeks and take Arie to all the places we used to go. It’ll be fun.”</i>
</p><p>Arie sat in the Demon and Hound, her right leg bouncing up and down, a full stein of cider and an uneaten pasty in front of her. Iefr had agreed to meet with her and he and Elwin were due in the pub any second. Arie had gotten there early hoping to ease her nerves, but so far it hadn’t worked. </p><p>Normally Arie wasn’t a very nervous person. But this...this was huge. What if she was making a stupid mistake? What if there was no way she could ever join the Guard? And why had she bothered asking Elwin not to say anything about her legs? It wasn’t as if she’d be able to hide it from Iefr, let alone the Verdant Guard. She couldn’t walk without her crutches. </p><p>Arie shook her head and took a sip of cider. No, she was a good fighter. She knew how to fight with her crutches and all she needed was for the Guard to give her a chance. And Iefr would help her. Elwin said he would. </p><p>The door opened and Arie looked up to see Elwin walk into the pub, followed by a man who looked a lot like him, only taller and bulkier. Arie found siblings fascinating, since they were virtually unheard of in Syngorn. And there was Iefr, looking almost exactly like Elwin, but different somehow.</p><p>They had the same hair, but where Elwin’s was messy and unkempt, Iefr’s was smooth and gathered in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. Elwin was scrawny, but Iefr’s muscles pressed against his shirt. He was also quite tall, even for an elf, easily over a foot taller than Arie, who was small by elf standards. </p><p>Arie waved at Elwin, who waved back before going up to the bar. A few minutes later he and Iefr sat down across from Arie with mugs of mead. Elwin did introductions and Arie felt shy for the first time in her life. </p><p>“So,” Iefr began. “You don’t want to follow in your parents’ footsteps at the Whimsical Crate?”</p><p>Arie rubbed her hands on her stein, wiping the condensation from the glass. “I...can’t. That’s why they hired Elwin.”</p><p>“Worked out pretty well for me,” Elwin said, shrugging. “Arie wants to join the Guard instead.”</p><p>Iefr nodded. “Huh. Well, they only take twenty or so recruits each time, and hundreds apply. So you’ve got to be good. Most elves who apply have known from birth that they’re destined for the Guard and train their whole lives.”</p><p>“That’s what Iefr did,” Elwin added. </p><p>“I’ve been training since I was little,” Arie said. “I’m proficient with most weapons.”</p><p>Iefr raised his eyebrows and took a sip of mead. “Really.”</p><p>“Don’t look so surprised,” Arie said. </p><p>Iefr shrugged. “Okay. Your parents are famous in Syngorn for their carvings. I’m surprised they trained you as a fighter instead.”</p><p>“Like I said, I can’t carve,” Arie replied. “Can I ask you about the Guard?”</p><p>“Sure,” Iefr said. </p><p>“How…” Arie began, unsure how to phrase her question. “How much magic is involved?”</p><p>“Some, but not much if you aren’t in the Magic Guard, and hardly anyone starts off in the Magic Guard. Most elves start in the Fighter Guard. And most stay with that, with weapon fighting. But a few of the best wizards are chosen to join the Magic Guard and they then train separately.”</p><p>Arie let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “So, it’s possible to join even if you can’t do magic?”</p><p>Iefr raised his eyebrows again. “I...suppose? But that’s never come up. The Guard is all High Elves and all High Elves can do magic.”</p><p>Arie stared down at her glass. “Not all High Elves.”</p><p>“What?” Iefr asked, leaning forward. “You mean….”</p><p>“I can’t do magic,” Arie said.</p><p>“So when you said you can’t do carvings like your parents, you weren’t talking about the fact that you’re not artistic,” Iefr said.</p><p>“Nope,” Arie replied. “I’ve got no magic.”</p><p>“Interesting,” Iefr said, leaning back. “I can’t say for sure they’ll accept you...but I’m honestly not sure it’ll even come up when you apply. They just assume everyone can do magic.”</p><p>“So there’s no magic test?”</p><p>Iefr laughed. “No, there’s no magic test. Not until you’re already in and they start training. They’ll find out then. Whether they’ll kick you out...I don’t know.”</p><p>“What do they do when you apply?”</p><p>“You fill out an application that’s a few pages long. Then you bring it to the government center and the recruiters look it over. If it looks good you then get invited to go to Beryl Keep and take a few tests and demonstrate your fighting. Once everyone has done that they take about a week to make their decisions and they’ll send you a note in the mail. You usually have to report for basic training a week after that.”</p><p>“That’s...that’s quicker than I would’ve thought.”</p><p>“They don’t like to devote a lot of time to it because that’s time taken away from training,” Iefr explained. “I applied and within a month I’d started basic.”</p><p>“Wow,” Arie said. She’d thought the whole process would take at least a few months. </p><p>“I brought you an application,” Iefr said, pulling a stack of paper out of his bag. </p><p>“Thanks,” Arie said, taking the papers. She glanced through them. The first couple were just basic information - name, address, birthday, place of birth, and other similar things. The next asked for information on fighter training and Arie was happy to see that in the list of weapons, she was proficient in all but two of them. The last section, however, was the one Arie was dreading. Medical history. </p><p>“So are you the only one in your family who can’t do magic?” Iefr asked. “I’ve never heard of a High Elf who can’t do magic.”</p><p>“Yeah, I’m the only one,” Arie said. </p><p>“Do you know why?” Iefr asked. </p><p>“Pretty sure, yeah,” Arie said. “Complications when I was born. That’s what everyone assumes, anyway. There’s no way to know for sure.”</p><p>“Interesting,” Iefr said. And he really did seem interested. </p><p>“Our parents are healers. Talented healers,” Elwin explained. “It’s why they got two chances at having kids who could follow in their footsteps. But when Iefr was born and quickly became twice the size of any normal elf his age they decided he’d do better in the Guard. And me...well, blood makes me queasy.”</p><p>Arie nodded. “I know. Your parents are my healers. They helped after I was born and then again when my parents realized I couldn’t do magic. And again when I was six for...other things. I still go see them a few times a year.”</p><p>“Wait,” Iefr said. “I remember that. I was fifteen or so. My parents talked about this toddler who couldn’t do any magic.They didn’t use your name or anything, but how many elves can there be who can’t do magic?”</p><p>“I’m sure it was me,” Arie said. </p><p>“There was something else, though,” Iefr began. “It wasn’t just the magic.”</p><p>Arie sighed and reached down to the floor to grab her crutches. She stood up and looked at Iefr.</p><p>“That,” Iefr said. “There was that. So...you can’t walk?”</p><p>“I can walk fine,” Arie said, glaring at him. </p><p>“But not without-”</p><p> </p><p>“No, not without crutches,” Arie interrupted.</p><p>Iefr sighed. “I-”</p><p>“I can fight,” Arie said. “I’ll prove it.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. A Fighter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“You have to promise this will be the last one,” Meriele said. “We can’t keep dragging her all over Tal’Dorei to see every healer and wizard in the land. It’s no life.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“But what if there’s one out there who can fix her?” </i>
</p><p>
  <i>“She isn’t broken. And if we keep dragging her all over she’ll grow up thinking she is.”</i>
</p><p>“Arie, it’s not me you have to convince,” Iefr said as they left the city walls. “I have nothing to do with recruiting new soldiers. I’m barely out of recruitment myself.”</p><p>Rationally, Arie knew that. But somehow Iefr’s doubt had gotten to her and she needed to prove herself to him. If she couldn’t convince Iefr that she could fight, what shot did she have at convincing the generals? </p><p>The cottage Arie lived in with her parents was a mile or so away from the Syngorn city gates, buried amongst the trees. There was a small garden and a small field just beyond it, but both of those were also hidden amongst the trees. There was no path leading to the cottage, but Arie knew the woods like the back of her hand and had no trouble leading Elwin and Iefr over the rocks, branches, and tree roots. It was obvious that navigating the terrain was more difficult for her than it was for Elwin and Iefr, but to the boys’ credit, they said nothing and matched her pace. </p><p>“This is exactly as I imagined your parents’ house to be,” Elwin said once they emerged into the front garden. </p><p>Eclectic was the best word to describe the cottage. It was all one story, with a ramp instead of steps leading to the front door, for Arie, but different sections of the roof were higher than others and nothing matched or coordinated with anything. The front yard was filled with magical carvings of all sizes. </p><p>“Come on,” Arie said, leading the boys to the field behind the house. </p><p>The field was mostly empty and filled with wildflowers, save for two small sheds. Arie marched up to the shed closest to the house and threw the doors open. Inside was a variety of swords, crossbows, longbows, scimitars, and knives. Arie stood aside and gestured to the shed.</p><p>“Pick your weapon,” she said to Iefr.</p><p>Iefr’s eyes grew large. “What? No. I’m not fighting you.”</p><p>Arie rolled her eyes. “I don’t mean to the death. Just a friendly sparr.”</p><p>“I can’t sparr a civilian,” Iefr sputtered. </p><p>“You’ve sparred with me,” Elwin pointed out. “And kicked my ass.”</p><p>“That’s different. You’re my brother. Arie’s...Arie’s a girl and she’s….”</p><p>“What?” Arie said, raising her eyebrows. “Disabled? You can say it, you know. It’s not a bad word. Is that what you’re thinking?”</p><p>“Well...yeah,” Iefr muttered. </p><p>Arie rolled her eyes. “Fine. Elwin, you can take his place.”</p><p>Elwin shrugged. “Sure.” He stepped forward and chose a sword.</p><p>“Elwin!” Iefr scolded. </p><p>“What? She wants to join the Guard. Pretty sure that means I don’t stand a chance,” Elwin said.</p><p>“Don’t go easy on me,” Arie said as she chose a similar sword. She let her right crutch fall to the ground, leaned heavily on the left one, and gripped the sword in her right hand. “Ready?”</p><p>“Ready,” Elwin said, holding his sword in front of him.</p><p>Iefr let out a groan. </p><p>Arie took a few steps forward and slashed her sword through the air. It collided with Elwin’s and she withdrew it. She continued advancing toward him, dodging his sword and slashing her own toward him. There were a few times where it came close and she almost got him, but she made sure to withdraw in the nick of time. Every time it happened his face paled just a bit and he jumped back. </p><p>After Arie had advanced on Elwin by a good twenty or thirty feet, forcing him to back up and dodge out of the way, she took a slight step to the left and swung her sword around the back of his head, causing him to yell and trip over a rock. He fell back on his ass, his sword a good five feet away.</p><p>Arie smiled smugly and turned to look at Iefr. “Well? Are you next?”</p><p>Iefr’s eyes were twice as large as they normally were. “Fine. You proved your point. But I’m not fighting you. You’re good, but I have years of training on you. It wouldn’t be fair, crutches or not.”</p><p>Arie smiled and hobbled back to the shed. Ignoring Iefr, she put the sword away and pulled out a crossbow. Dropping her other crutch to the ground, she stood as wide as she could, her knees slightly bent and her feet turned inward, and loaded the bow. “You see that target down there?”</p><p>“What target?” Iefr asked.</p><p>“Beyond Elwin,” she said. </p><p>“You mean down by that tree?” Iefr asked. “That’s easily a hundred yards off. No way can you get it.”</p><p>“Sure I can,” Arie said. She waited until Elwin had gotten up, retrieved his sword, and moved out of the way before loosing the arrow toward the target.</p><p>It landed with a quiet thunk and Arie looked at Iefr. “Well, go and see. It’d take me ages to get there.”</p><p>Iefr set off at a jog toward the target. By the time he returned, arrow in hand, Elwin was back. </p><p>“Damn,” Iefr said, handing the arrow back to Arie. “Right in the center.”</p><p>“Years of practice,” Arie said. “So, what do you think?”</p><p>Iefr sighed. “I don’t know. You’re good. I’ll give you that. But I can’t say for sure whether they’ll look past the crutches. All you can do is try.”</p><p>Arie shrugged. Fair enough. Iefr was right that he had no say in whether Arie was recruited or not. “Hand me my crutches?”</p><p>Iefr nodded and picked them up off the ground and handed them to her, taking the crossbow and arrow and returning them to the shed. </p><p>“What’s in the other shed?” Elwin asked. “More weapons?”</p><p>Arie stiffened and shifted her weight to her left. “Er, yeah, something like that. Anything else to say about me being a fighter?” </p><p>“No, not much,” Iefr said.</p><p>Elwin shrugged and gave her a wry smile.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Application</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“What is he, this wizard?” Meriele asked. “Is he an elf?”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“No, he’s not an elf,” Carric answered. “He’s...he’s a tiefling.” </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Meriele stared at him, her eyebrows raised. “A tiefling? Everyone knows only elven healers are worth their salt. And she’s already seen the best of the best in elven healers.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Don’t act like such a High Elf,” Carric said. “We’ll go in with an open mind.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“I am a High Elf, Carric. As are you.”</i>
</p><p>“Full name?” Iefr asked.</p><p>“Arie Edea Siannodel,” Arie answered. </p><p>The two sat alongside each other on a bench at the Siannodels’ kitchen table. Arie’s father carved the table himself shortly after he and her mother married and he kept its rustic look. It was more like a giant log carved roughly into a table and resembled more of a butcher block than an actual table, despite the fact that Arie’s parents were both vegetarians. </p><p>After Arie’s display of her fighting skills, she brought the boys into the cottage because she could tell Elwin was dying to get a look at what the inside looked like. And he did not seem disappointed. The inside of the cottage resembled the outside, in that it was eclectic and filled with carvings. The place was small- only five rooms (kitchen, living area, two bedrooms, and a bathroom), and the kitchen and living space were mostly just one large room. Arie’s and her parents’ bedrooms branched off of the living space, while the bathroom branched off the kitchen.</p><p>Elwin was puttering around, looking at and picking up every single carving in the room and gasping as he did so. Arie had begun to tune him out and she suspected Iefr had been tuning him out Elwin’s entire life. </p><p>“Date of birth,” Iefr said. </p><p>“The fifteenth of Misuthar,” Arie said. “807.” </p><p>Iefr nodded and wrote it down on the application. Arie’s other reason for inviting the boys into the cottage was to con Iefr into filling out her application for her. Writing, along with wood carving, was another task that Arie’s hands did not handle well. She could physically do it, but it was painstakingly slow and turned out very messy. Iefr, Arie had noticed, had extremely neat handwriting. </p><p>“So, what’s it like when you’re training?” Arie asked.</p><p>“As in basic? It’s exhausting. You train easily fourteen or fifteen hours a day, with breaks for meals. Afterward you’re so tired you’ll need real sleep. Who taught you to fight?”</p><p>“My dad,” Arie answered. “He trained in the Guard and hated it so he quit, met my mom, and the two of them started the Whimsical Crate.” </p><p>“Did you tell them about this?” </p><p>“About wanting to join the Guard? No. They’ll tell me not to and tell me how stupid it is and how there’s no way I’ll ever get picked.”</p><p>“But your dad still taught you to fight.”</p><p>Arie nodded. “He wants me to know how to fight, but he doesn’t want me to actually fight. He knows I’m good, but he and my mom still think I can’t do anything for myself. It’s weird.” </p><p>“I get that. They want to protect you and keep you safe and one way to do that is to train you to fight, but still want to fight all of your battles for you,” Iefr said. “I know deep down my parents wish I’d become a healer instead of joining the Guard.”</p><p>“And I know mine wish I could’ve apprenticed with them,” Arie replied.</p><p>Iefr scrawled something else on Arie’s application, then looked up. “How old were you when you realized you couldn’t?”</p><p>“It was officially decided when I was twelve or thirteen, but looking back my parents should’ve realized it when I was a lot younger,” Arie answered. “I knew I couldn’t do magic before that, but my parents always figured they could train me to carve and then find another apprentice to charm all my carvings.”</p><p>“Did you like carving?”</p><p>“No, I hated it,” Arie said, shaking her head. “I was horrible at it. That’s why my parents should’ve realized it earlier. I couldn’t ever write well. You know how a little kid writes when they’re just learning? Holding the quill all weird and making letters that are all different sizes and all over the place? I’ve never been able to write better than that. My hands just don’t work that way. So with carving, it’s the same thing. You have to be able to move the knife in tiny gestures, like with a quill. It uses more of your hand and finger muscles. Whereas with a sword, big sweeping gestures are what you need, that use more of your arm and shoulder muscles. Does that make sense?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Iefr said, nodding. “But you kept trying for years after that?”</p><p>“My parents wanted me to. They were hoping I’d get better with practice, but it’s not a matter of talent. It’s a matter of my hands and my brain physically can’t work together to do something like carving. So they finally let it go and I stepped up my fighter training with all the extra time. Then, years later, they finally decided to hire an apprentice. And that’s where your brother came in.”</p><p>Arie and Iefr looked up to find Elwin sitting on the couch rummaging through a box of rejected half-finished carvings. </p><p>“Do you wish you could carve?” Iefr asked.</p><p>“Not really,” Arie said. “When I was little I did, but by the time my parents let me quit I was so frustrated it was just a relief.”</p><p>“I get that,” Iefr said. “It was sort of like that with my parents and Elwin, with healing. All right, the application is mostly filled out, except for the medical info.”</p><p>Arie groaned. “Let me see it.”</p><p>Iefr handed Arie the page and she scanned it, her heart pounding. But it wasn’t what she thought it was. There was nowhere for her to list her disability...or her other issues. “Wait, all this is asking is what sorts of illnesses and injuries I’ve had in the past.” And all of the ones listed were acute, nothing chronic. </p><p>“Well, yes,” Iefr said. “You realize it’s really...unusual, for someone to have anything that can’t be fixed with magic. The Verdant Guard doesn’t even entertain the possibility of something like that existing.” </p><p>Arie tapped her fingers on the table. “So...they won’t even have to know about my legs before they meet me.”</p><p>“I suppose not, no,” Iefr said, furrowing his brow as he looked at the application. “You don’t even turn it in directly to the Guard. There’s a drop box at the Government Center.”</p><p>“That’s perfect,” Arie said, slowly smiling.</p><p>Iefr chuckled. “Okay, so which of these listed illnesses and injuries have you had?”</p><p>Arie pointed to half a dozen or so on the list and Iefr checked the boxes. </p><p>Iefr shoved the medical history behind the stack and looked at the next page. “All right, now you’ve got to write an essay about why you want to join the Guard.”</p><p>Arie groaned. Putting her thoughts into words had never been her strong suit. </p><p>“Don’t worry, I’ll do the actual writing,” Iefr said. “You just dictate.”</p><p>“What did you write yours about?” </p><p>“About how I want to defend Syngorn and work to make sure the people who live here have the best and safest lives possible.”</p><p>Arie nodded. That was so...noble. If Arie was honest with herself, she just really wanted to fight. </p><p>“Put it this way,” Iefr began, “what was it that gave you the idea to join?”</p><p>“I watch the Guard, almost every day,” Arie said.</p><p>“Wait, what? You actually watch that? No one watches that. No one local, anyway,” Iefr said, surprised.</p><p>“I have since I was a kid,” Arie explained. “The Guard is just so...impressive. And strong. I want to be a part of that.”</p><p>Iefr looked at her, opened his mouth, then closed it again, and nodded. “Write about that,” he said quietly. </p><p>Arie nodded. “Okay.”</p><p>The entire process took about half an hour, but eventually Arie had an essay written of the required length. Iefr shuffled the papers so the application cover was on top and sealed the entire thing into an envelope with a spell. </p><p>“Well,” Iefr said. “Here you are.”</p><p>“Thanks,” Arie said, running her fingers over the envelope. In Elven script it said, ‘Verdant Guard - Guardsman Application’ on the front. </p><p>“Elwin!” Iefr called. “We’ve got to go. Mom will be expecting us for dinner.”</p><p>Elwin, who had taken a chunk of wood from the rejection box and begun carving it, startled.</p><p>“You can keep that,” Arie said. </p><p>“Cool,” Elwin said, pocketing the chunk of wood and his knife. “See ya, Arie.”</p><p>“Bye,” Arie said.</p><p>Elwin opened the door and walked out into the yard. Iefr followed, but paused in the doorway. He turned back to Arie.</p><p>“Good luck, Arie Siannodel,” he said quietly. “I know I have no say over who the Guard hires, but I think you’d be an asset to the group.”</p><p>“Thanks, Iefr,” Arie said. </p><p>Iefr nodded and left. Arie slowly shut the door after him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Nosy Elves</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“What do we say when people ask?”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“We tell them the truth,” Carric said as he tossed the misshapen wood carving into the rejection bin. “She can’t be a wood carver. Simple as that.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Meriele sighed. “The Voice of Memory won’t be happy. We only got permission to have her because of the carvings.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Then the Voice of Memory will have to deal,” Carric said. “I’m not going to force her to do something she physically can’t do.”<i></i></i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>It took Arie much of the next morning to get to the Government Center. The building was located next to Beryl Keep, on the opposite side of the Emerald Citadel. Arie passed Beryl Keep just as the Verdant Guard was starting their demonstration and paused in her usual spot to watch, this time imagining herself in the midst of the soldiers. As they finished, Arie fumbled with the closure on her backpack, checking to make sure her application was still safely inside. It was. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Slinging her backpack back over her shoulders, Arie got up and continued toward the Government Center. She had never been inside it before, but had walked past many times. Like the rest of the buildings in Syngorn, the Government Center was elaborate. It was built almost entirely of marble, with huge columns atop a long, sloping staircase. The grounds were immaculately kept and Arie had no doubt the grass was always kept to an exact two inches tall, like the grass at Beryl Keep. Identical trees were planted at various intervals along the marble path leading to the stairs, so identical in fact that Arie was almost positive magic was involved. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Elves hurried past Arie in both directions as she made her way up the path. Most of them didn’t give her a second glance, their noses held high as they went along with their days, no doubt thinking that whatever they were up to was the most important thing in the world. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie groaned when she reached the bottom of the stairs, almost wishing she’d had Iefr turn in the application for her. As agile as Arie had gotten with her crutches, stairs were by far the most difficult terrain to deal with. She’d rather navigate over the uneven forest floor, with all its rocks and tree roots, than deal with a staircase like the one in front of the Government Center. Climbing stairs took about ten times the effort of regular walking and maneuvering two crutches plus two feet that didn’t always do what she wanted them to do was not an easy task. She couldn’t count the number of times she’d tripped on the three steps that led to the Whimsical Crate. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The whole process took almost twenty minutes and by the time Arie reached the top her legs felt like jelly, but she forced them to continue on and she reached for the heavy glass door that led inside the Government Center. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Let me get that for you.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie turned around and saw a very tall male elf who looked to be around her parents’ age. His robes were slightly disheveled, which was odd for someone from Syngorn, but more strange than that was the fact that his face was damp and his eyes were rimmed red, as if he’d been crying.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>He reached over Arie (not a difficult task since he was over a foot taller than her), and opened the door, holding it for her.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Um, thanks,” Arie said as she walked in.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The rest of the Syngornian population had one of three different reactions when they saw Arie. They either glanced quickly away and ignored her once they saw her crutches, they openly stared as if trying to figure out what was wrong with her, or they bent over backward trying to help her. She assumed this guy fell into the latter category. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>After entering behind her and shutting the door, the older elf looked at her, as if trying to decide if she needed more help. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then shut it without saying anything, and hurried off to the end of the line. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The inside of the Government Center was just as magnificent as the outside. The lobby was all marble with giant round columns placed in various locations. A large desk took up most of the room and was staffed by a female elf so old Arie could tell she was old and a young male elf who looked around Iefr’s age. A short line stood in front of the desk. To the right of the desk was a small waiting area with a few green chairs adorned with gold thread. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie looked around for the box in which to deposit her application, but didn’t see it. Instead, she joined the line, filing in behind the elf who held the door open for her. Arie peered around him and saw there were about five people ahead of him. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The line slowly moved forward, everyone getting called forward to the older elf, since the younger one had been helping the same human the entire time Arie had been there. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Next,” the older elf called. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The elf in front of Arie walked forward and Arie hoped he wouldn’t take long. Her legs were cramping up after that walk up the stairs and she needed to sit down. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“You need to fill out form T-56,” the older elf said in a bored voice. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie glanced up and looked at the elf who had been in front of her. He was crying again. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I-I already filled out form T-56,” he choked. “I haven’t heard a thing! Not a word! It’s been over a year! And I haven’t heard of anyone getting a pay-out, either. It’s like you’ve shoved it all under the rug-”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Form T-56,” the older elf interrupted, more forceful this time, as she shoved a paper across the desk at him. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>He shoved it back. “I’d like to request a meeting with the Council. I saw in the paper that they’re back in session in two weeks' time.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The older elf sighed and reached under the desk and came out with another form. “Fill out form B-34,” she said. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Have you got a quill and ink?” he asked, taking the form.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The elf pointed to the seating area. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Over a year!” the elf shouted as he left for the seating area. “I swear the government is pretending it never happened.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Next,” the older elf said, sighing.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie walked over to her. Her blonde hair was streaked with gray and there were considerable wrinkles across her face. Arie wondered if she’d been working at the Government Center her whole life.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Can I help you?” she asked, her eyes narrowing at Arie’s crutches. It seemed she was one of the types who stared. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie shuffled uncomfortably. “Er, yes. I’m looking for the box where the Verdant Guard applications go?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The elf’s lips thinned. “Are you some sort of errand girl? The Verdant Guard prefers everyone file applications themselves. Cuts down on fraud, you see.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“No,” Arie said. “It’s my own application.” She slung her backpack off one of her shoulders, reached in, and grabbed the envelope. She placed it on the desk.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“You?” the elf’s eyebrows rose higher than Arie thought possible. “You can’t possibly-”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I can and I am,” Arie interrupted. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The woman sighed, clearly not wanting to fight another battle. “The Verdant Guard decided they’d prefer all applications be handed in here at the desk rather than at the box. You’ll also need to sign this.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>She placed a clipboard on the desk, along with a quill and a pot of ink. Arie quickly glanced at the paper. It was a standard disclaimer, stating that all of one’s answers on the application were true. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie sighed. “Can you unstopper the ink?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The elf’s brows furrowed, but she did as Arie asked.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Thanks,” Arie muttered. She took the quill and messily, but methodically, signed her name on the paper. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The older elf took it and folded it, placing it on top of Arie’s application. “I’ll put it with the others,” she said.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Thanks,” Arie said again, hastily wiping her ink-covered hand on her tunic. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Next,” the older elf called, dismissing Arie.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie put her bag back on her back and turned around. The crying elf had already finished his form and was back in line, looking more angry than sad now. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Outside, Arie paused at the top of the stairs. What had that elf been so upset about? She should’ve asked for form T-56 just to see what it was about. She almost turned around and went back inside to ask for one, but when she peeked in the door she saw the line had grown to about eight people now and did not want to stand that long in the line. Maybe the paper would have a clue, since he mentioned the Council reconvening. Arie rarely read the paper, but she knew her parents always had a copy floating around the shop.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie set off down the stairs, her eyes set on her usual bench near Beryl Keep to rest before walking to the Tarn Ward. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>She was about halfway down the stairs when her left leg spasmed and buckled, sending her tumbling forward down the rest of the section of stairs, until she reached the final landing. Wincing, she sat up and saw that while her right crutch was still next to her, the left one had landed at the bottom of the stairs. Her backpack had opened and her collection of daggers had gone flying, strewn all over the last remaining stairs. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Suddenly a group of eight or so elves converged upon her. “Are you okay?” one of them asked.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Clearly she’s not okay. She’s already got crutches,” another said.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Let me help you up,” another said, offering his arm. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“You shouldn’t have been carrying so much,” another said, bending down to grab her backpack. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I’m fine!” Arie said, shrinking back from the elf offering his arm, her voice cracking. She stared down at the marble, her eyes stinging. She squeezed them shut, willing the group to leave. “Please,” she pleaded. “I’m fine. Just go.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“We’re only trying to help,” the first one said.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Do you want us to call anyone? I’ve got a Sending Stone.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Idiot, that’ll only call the person who has the matching one.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I swear I’m fine!” Arie called over them, her voice cracking again. She wasn’t going to be able to get up if they didn’t leave. They were blocking the railing and she needed that since her other crutch was a good fifteen feet away. There was nothing she hated more in the world than people seeing her fall and now she’d done it on the steps of the Government Center, in front of dozens of people. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“At least let us help you get your stuff,” the elf who’d picked up her backpack said. “You’ve got an awful lot of daggers.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“She does,” another elf said. “Sweetie, why do you have so many daggers?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Please give me my bag!” Arie said, hastily wiping her cheeks before snatching her bag away from him. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I think I’ve seen her around before,” the first elf said. “Yes, I have. Her parents have a shop in the Tarn Ward. Pity, really-”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Please go!” Arie interrupted, her hands shaking as she shoved the nearest dagger back into her bag. She didn’t know what to do. Usually people cleared off once she started shouting at them. And these elves weren’t even helping her. They were just talking about her as if she wasn’t even there.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Poor dear,” the oldest of the group said, shaking her head and making a clucking sound with her tongue. She offered her hand. “But humbling for the rest of us.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie slid away from her and scrambled toward the railing, which was now thankfully no longer blocked since the elves had shifted a bit. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“All right, clear off!” someone called.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie looked up and saw Elwin jogging toward her. She let out a sigh of relief. Never had she been so happy to see Elwin in her life.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“She’s fine,” he assured the eight other elves. “I’m an apprentice in her parents’ shop. You can go.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The others muttered to each other, still not talking to Arie as if she were actually there, but slowly walked away. They all looked over their shoulders a few times until they disappeared into the crowd. Once they were gone, Elwin sat down next to her. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Are you all right?” he asked quietly. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Y-yes,” she choked. She hastily wiped her face, hoping Elwin wouldn’t notice that she’d been crying. Or if he did notice that he wouldn’t say anything.  </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Are you hurt?” he asked.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie flexed her feet and hands. “No.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Good,” he said. “Do you want me to get your parents?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“No!” Arie said quickly. “It’s just...I just turned in my application. How can I join the Verdant Guard if I can’t even walk down a flight of stairs?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I don’t think the Verdant Guard regularly has to climb stairs in battle,” Elwin said dryly.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“But it’s the principle of the thing-”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Arie, everyone trips,” Elwin said. “Some more than others. I don’t know if they’ll let you into the Guard, but I do know that if they deny you, it’s not because of lack of skill. Now come on, let me help you up.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie nodded and Elwin offered a hand. Arie took it and let him lift her back to a standing position. She leaned on the railing while he retrieved her left crutch, then watched as he retrieved the daggers that had scattered across the stairs. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Are you sure you’ve got enough daggers?” he asked, handing her her bag.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Elwin,” she said, slinging the bag back onto her back, “one can never have enough daggers.”</i>
  </i>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Elvendawn</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“What other choice do we have, Carric? We need someone to help in the shop and help with keeping up with demand.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Carric set down his carving tools and looked at Meriele. “I don’t know, but I don’t like the idea of taking an apprentice. Isn’t that a bit of a slap in the face to our own daughter?”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“She doesn’t want to be our apprentice,” Meriele said, sighing. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>“I know that. I’m the one who convinced you to stop trying to force her.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Our only other choice is to appeal to the Voice of Memory and try to have another child-”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“We’re not doing that. She’d think we’re trying to replace her.”</i>
</p><p><i>“Then we’re in agreement,” Meriele said, grabbing the nearest piece of parchment. “We advertise for an apprentice.”</i> </p><p>“You’re sure you’re all right?” Elwin asked as he and Arie walked slowly down the path toward the Tarn Ward. </p><p>“Yes,” Arie said. “Why do you keep asking me that?”</p><p>“It’s just...you’re walking slower than normal,” Elwin said quietly.</p><p>“You notice how fast I walk?” Arie asked. </p><p>Elwin’s cheeks reddened. “Er...I guess.”</p><p>“I promise I’m fine. I’ve tripped on stairs plenty of times,” Arie assured him. She was walking slowly because her legs still felt like jelly from walking up the stairs. </p><p>“If you’re sure,” Elwin said.</p><p>“I’m sure,” Arie said. “What were you doing over there anyway?”</p><p> </p><p>“Iefr left one of his uniform hats at home so I brought it back to Beryl Keep for him.”</p><p>Arie nodded. “That was nice of you. Thanks by the way...for back there.”</p><p>“Don’t mention it,” Elwin said.</p><p>“Can you not tell my parents? About what happened?” Arie asked quietly. </p><p>“Of course,” Elwin said. </p><p>The two walked in silence for the next few blocks. Elwin had slowed his pace considerably so Arie could keep up with him and Arie knew he was probably already late for work, but she didn’t want him to leave so she didn’t tell him to go on without her. She knew her parents weren’t sticklers about punctuality.</p><p>Arie could feel the stares of other elves as they walked and she wondered if her fall down the steps of the Government Center had made its way through the gossip mill already. She hoped not. And if it did, she hoped it wouldn’t make it to her parents’ ears. The more she injured herself while walking around Syngorn unaccompanied, the more they would worry and fret and make her feel guilty about coming to the city at all. </p><p>“So,” Elwin began as they entered the Tarn Ward. “Elvendawn is next week.”</p><p>Arie nodded. “Yeah, it is.”</p><p>Elvendawn, marking Midsummer, was a huge celebration in Syngorn. It’s the holy day of the Archeart and, traditionally, it marked the first emergence of the elves into Exandria from the Feywild. If you look at the buildings, archways, and fountains in Syngorn closely enough, there are tiny doors hidden in most of them. These doors, which are rumored to lead into the Feywild, are opened every Elvendawn for the fey to emerge and celebrate alongside the elves. For this celebration, elves traditionally dress in the whimsical outfits worn by the fey. The Elvendawn celebration in Syngorn grows larger every year. </p><p>At dusk, the Tarn Ward turned into an outdoor market, with all the vendors bringing their wares out onto the sidewalks and the lawns. There were also vendors (both from Syngorn and not) who didn’t have storefronts, who sold their wares off carts wherever they could find space to park. But Arie’s favorite part was the food vendors. All the restaurants and bars in Syngorn brought a selection from their menus and sold them in small portions, so that you could try everything. There was also music and dancing. The celebration lasted all night, until the first hint of dawn, when it culminated in a giant parade. </p><p>The Whimsical Crate was in view now and Arie noticed two humans, clearly from out of town, pointing excitedly at the carvings on display in the window. Arie smiled. She’d done the most recent window display and it featured a giant wooden owl carved by her mom that turned its head all the way around and hooted every ten minutes. </p><p>“I was wondering if...maybe...you wanted to go with me?” Elwin asked quickly. “To Elvendawn, I mean.”</p><p>Arie turned back to Elwin. “What? Like...the two of us go together?” </p><p>Elwin’s cheeks reddened again. “Er, yeah, I mean, only if you want….”</p><p>“Um, yeah,” Arie said, smiling. She suddenly felt warm all over. “But...won’t you be working?”</p><p>“Only part of it. I have to work the first half and then go back to help pack up after the parade. I should be free around midnight.”</p><p>“Midnight,” Arie said. “I’ll meet you at the Whimsical Crate’s stand at midnight.”</p><p>Elwin smiled. “Yes.”</p><p>Arie and Elwin continued toward the Whimsical Crate, the two humans staring at Arie as they went. </p><p>Inside, Arie’s parents were both busy at their carving stations, neither taking any notice of Elwin’s tardiness. Elwin hurried off to his own station, leaving Arie in the showroom. She set her bag down on a chair and started hunting for the copy of the <i>Syngorn Tribune</i> she knew had to be floating around somewhere.</p><p>She found it sitting on a table, buried beneath a few carving tools. Pushing aside the tools, she snatched the paper and sat down on a squashy chair to read it. There were advertisements for Elvendawn, a pet shop, and the Whimsical Crate along with a few articles.</p><p>The largest of the articles announced the new Verdant Lord, an elf who had previously been a general. That meant the acting Verdant Lord would return to his duties as the Vice Protector outside of Syngorn’s walls. Arie couldn’t remember exactly when the previous Verdant Lord left his position, but it had to have been at least a year ago. She knew he had been caught kidnapping children and had been found out by a group of outsiders, but other than that she didn’t know much. No one talked about it since. </p><p>There was also an article proclaiming Elwin and Iefr’s father as the newest on the High-Elf Council. That was no surprise, as he’d been rumored to be appointed for the past couple months, ever since the previous 5th member died. </p><p>But it was the smallest article at the very bottom that caught Arie’s attention the most. It informed the residents of Syngorn of an increased werewolf presence in the Verdant Expanse. Reading that caused Arie’s heart to speed up and her palms to sweat. Arie knew more than most that there were werewolves in the Verdant Expanse, but she hated being reminded of it. Nor did she like that there was enough of a presence to warrant an article in the paper. It had happened twice before that she could remember and both times soldiers from the Guard had been sent to “deal with the problem” during the full moon. Arie shuddered at the thought of that happening again.</p><p>Over a decade ago, Arie had come across a werewolf in the Verdant Expanse and ever since, she had been plagued with lycanthropy. No amount of magic seemed able to rid her of it, no matter how talented the healer. </p><p>“Arie, you shouldn’t be reading that.”</p><p>The paper was snatched from Arie’s hands and she looked up to see her mother folding the paper and putting it in her apron. </p><p>“But Mom-”</p><p>“You don’t need to worry,” she said, lowering her voice. “You aren’t like the others. You don’t choose to transform.”</p><p>Arie knew this, but she also knew that if anyone in Syngorn knew about her lycanthropy she’d be ostracized even more than she already was. A lack of magic and a brain that didn’t properly communicate with her legs or hands were strange enough, but lycanthropy? That didn’t sit well with most High Elves. </p><p>“Your father and I likely won’t be home until tomorrow afternoon,” Meriele said, patting the paper in her apron. “We got a very large custom order in and need to catch up on the Elvendawn carvings after we finish it. Go home before it gets dark and stay there until light. You know you don’t navigate the ground in the forest as well at night.”</p><p>“Yes, Mom,” Arie said quietly. </p><p>Meriele returned to her work station and Arie tugged her right sleeve farther down to hide more of the scar that ran its entire length. She wouldn’t disobey her parents tonight. Not when they were putting in extra hours to create more things to sell at Elvendawn. Elvendawn wasn’t a time for them to sell large items. Most people shopping during the festival were looking for small trinkets to commemorate the day and wouldn’t spend a huge amount of gold in one shop’s tent. But if her parents and Elwin could create enough small items, they’d make a fortune. </p><p>The Whimsical Crate did a decent business and Arie knew her parents made enough money to live more than comfortably, but she also knew how expensive all the healer visits were and how expensive the Wolfsbane Potion was. While her parents never told her, she found out on her own that it cost about 2,000 gold each, once the cost of all the ingredients were added together. But transforming without it was not only even more painful and almost unbearable for Arie, it was also dangerous. Wolfsbane turned the wolf into a docile creature. There had only been a few months where Arie’s parents had been unable to procure it, but those transformations stuck out in Arie’s mind as the worst in her life.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. A Sword Cane, Only Better</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“We’ve gotten four applications,” Carric said, shuffling through a small pile of papers. “Deadline’s tomorrow.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Anyone promising?” Meriele asked.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“A few. One of the names sounds familiar. Elwin Miralar,” Carric said, holding up one of the papers. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Elwin…” Meriele mused, “I think that’s the Miralars’ younger son.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“That’s right,” Carric said. “Elwin looks promising. Sent a photo of some of his carvings.”</i>
</p><p>*</p><p>Syngorn spared no expense for Elvendawn. Starting a few days beforehand the city’s most talented spellcasters began to transform the Tarn Ward, Lake Ywynnlas, and all of its surrounding areas into a dazzling wonderland. Globes of light danced above and on top of the lake, silver and gold filigrees that looked solid until you touched them meandered through the air, and every bench, streetlight, and building were adorned with silver and gold ribbon. Everything in the city was cleaned and shined, from the smallest plaque to the Emerald Citadel itself. Traveling salespeople and local shopkeepers alike set up their tents on every bit of spare lawn in the Tarn Ward and surrounding the lake. Food vendors set up as well, the delicious smells of their delicacies filling the air and mixing with the sweet smell of the Syngornian lotus flowers, which always bloomed on Elvendawn. </p><p>Arie loved Elvendawn. She loved the excitement, the fact that you could feel the energy in the air, but more than that she loved the anonymity of it. Elvendawn was the one night a year that everyone in Syngorn seemed to forget they were High Elves. No one was focused on what everyone else was doing, their minds completely focused on the magic of Elvendawn. It was the one night a year when Arie could pretend she was completely normal and not have anyone stare at her. </p><p>Even this year, when Arie’s mind was focused on her pending Verdant Guard application, she was determined to fall under Elvendawn’s spell. She’d donned the outfit she wore every year for Elvendawn, the one day of the year she did not wear her characteristic fitted tunic and pants. Elvendawn was the one day a year Arie wore a dress and hers was one her mother had excitedly commissioned a few years ago. It was pale blue, the precise shade of Arie’s eyes, adorned with gold ribbon, gauze, and glitter. The top was fitted, with gold ribbon crisscrossing the bodice. The bottom was not quite as fitted, with gold gauze flowing over top of the blue. At first glance it looked like a traditional Elvendawn frock, but Meriele had commissioned a few differences, which were the only reasons Arie was willing to wear it. First, it had long, tight-fitting sleeves to cover her scars. Most Elvendawn dresses were sleeveless. Second, the skirt stopped an inch above her ankles, so she wouldn’t trip over it or step on it with her crutches. And lastly, it did not have any of the excess, flowing material trailing off the back. </p><p>At ten minutes to midnight Arie arrived at the Whimsical Crate’s tent to meet Elwin. The tent was crowded. Elwin was ringing up an older elf dressed in robes much more gaudy than he would likely wear on a normal day. Her dad was showing off the giant owl they’d brought over, likely just as a display, as no one would buy something that grand and expensive on Elvendawn. Her mom was doing a custom, on-the-spot carving. Those were the most popular on Elvendawn, as they were one-of-a-kind, but small enough that it only took ten to fifteen minutes. </p><p>“Arie,” Meriele called, looking up from her carving. “What are you up to?”</p><p>“Elwin and I are going to walk around,” Arie said. “Once he’s done.”</p><p>Meriele visibly relaxed. “Oh, that’s very nice of him. I’ll feel better if you stick with him. It gets so busy as the night wears on and it can get a bit rowdy. I don’t want you knocked to the ground.” </p><p>Arie fought the urge to roll her eyes. She had this same discussion with her parents every year. </p><p>Elwin finished with his customer and joined Arie at the front of the tent. “Wow, you look beautiful,” he said. </p><p>“Thanks,” Arie said, blushing. </p><p>“Who did your hair?” Elwin asked. “I didn’t know hair could do that.”</p><p>Arie giggled. Her hair was done up in an elaborate braid, employing far more braiding techniques than she usually used. Her normal braiding was limited to the regular kind, done extremely clumsily and messily.</p><p>“Conga,” Arie said. “You know, the barkeep at-”</p><p>“The Demon and Hound?” Elwin interrupted. “Really?”</p><p>“Yes, really,” Arie said, laughing. “She begged me to let her try out this new braid she discovered a few years ago on Elvendawn and ever since then she’s done it for me every Elvendawn.”</p><p>“That’s…” Elwin began, “weird. Cool, but weird. Ready to go?”</p><p>“Ready,” Arie said, smiling. </p><p>“Have fun, you two,” Meriele said. “And be safe.”</p><p>“Do you think they know?” Elwin asked, once he and Arie were a few yards away from the tent. “About me asking you...I mean, they are my bosses.”</p><p>“No,” Arie said. “Mom thinks you’re walking around with me to be nice. She’s very relieved. She thinks you’ll be able to protect me from getting knocked over by the crowd.”</p><p>Elwin snorted. “Did you tell them you bested me in a spar last week?”</p><p>“Definitely not,” Arie said. “They’d ask why we sparred and eventually it would lead to them finding out about my Verdant Guard application.” </p><p>“They’re going to find out about that eventually,” Elwin pointed out. “You can’t go to Beryl Keep and think they won’t find out. You have to live there.”</p><p>“I know. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. But there’s a good chance I won’t get in, so why bother worrying about it now?”</p><p>“If they can look past your legs and let you fight, they’ll see they’d be stupid not to recruit you.”</p><p>“But since when are High Elves known for their ability to look past differences?” Arie muttered. </p><p>Elwin didn’t respond. Arie knew that was because what she had said was true. Of all the races in Tal’Dorei, High Elves were the least tolerant. Except perhaps dwarves. </p><p>“Let’s go get something to eat,” Elwin said, steering Arie toward the nearest food vendor. “Look, they’ve got a sprouted salad with lotus syrup.”</p><p>Arie grimaced. “That sounds disgusting. Let’s find somewhere with meat. Or are you a vegetarian? Why are so many elves vegetarians?”</p><p>Elwin laughed. “No, I’m not. But I figured you were. Your parents are.” </p><p>“They are, but I’m not,” Arie said, following her nose toward a vendor selling kebabs. Arie used to be a vegetarian, but that changed once she contracted lycanthropy. </p><p>“This is perfect,” Elwin said, walking up to the vendor and ordering two beef kebabs. </p><p>Arie reached into her pocket for a few copper pieces, but by the time she dug them out Elwin had already paid and had the two kebabs in his hands.</p><p>“Thanks,” Arie said, shifting her weight to her left crutch so she could let the right one dangle from her arm and take the kebab. </p><p>They stood in the grass eating their kebabs, then continued down the path and bought food at every vendor they came across. Except the vendors selling strange vegetarian options, that is. </p><p>“This is how you do Elvendawn,” Elwin said, leading Arie to an ice cream vendor. “Ice cream?”</p><p>“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Arie said. </p><p>It was artisan ice cream, which was no surprise. Arie wouldn’t expect anything less for Elvendawn. But that meant the flavors were bizarre. Elwin chose lime chili pepper and Arie chose lavender honeysuckle. </p><p>“Let’s go eat it by the lake,” Elwin said. </p><p>Elwin carried both their ice creams and they cut through the myriad of vendors to get to the water’s edge. The magical orbs of light were hovering above the water, casting the entire area in a warm glow. </p><p>Elwin chose a grassy spot a few yards away from anyone else and sat down. Arie slowly sat down next to him, sliding her hands down her crutches as she went, so as not to fall completely on her ass. Elwin handed her her ice cream and she took a bite. It was creamy and delicious and just the right amount of weird. </p><p>“When Iefr was a kid he tried to grab one of those orbs of light,” Elwin said as he gazed out at the lake. </p><p>“Really? What happened?” Arie asked, smirking.</p><p>“He burned his hand and then had to be pulled out of the lake. Mom fixed him up right then, but we still tease him about it every chance we get.” </p><p>Arie laughed. “I tried to swim in it once when I was little. I was about six and I’d just gotten my crutches-”</p><p>“You didn’t need them before that? I thought you’d had trouble with your legs since you were born.”</p><p>“I did, but I didn’t get crutches until I was six. I could walk okay before that. I fell down a lot and couldn’t go very fast, but it worked. Little kids fall down a lot anyway and they’re already so close to the ground it doesn’t matter so much. And I’ve always been small. But the older I got the more obvious it became that if I was going to walk I was going to have to put most of my weight on something other than my legs. So my dad came up with these.”</p><p>“Did he carve them?” Elwin asked. </p><p>Arie nodded. “The original pair he made were extendable, so they’d grow with me. But once I stopped growing he made me these.”</p><p>Elwin ran his fingers up and down one of them. “So you’ve got one of a kind crutches.”</p><p>“Well, there isn’t exactly anywhere in Syngorn where I could buy any,” Arie pointed out.</p><p>“Good point,” Elwin said. “Can I ask you something...about your legs?”</p><p>“Sure,” Arie said.</p><p>“Can you...can you walk at all without the crutches?” Elwin asked.</p><p>“I can stand without them, but not without bending my knees. But I can’t walk much because I can’t really lift my legs without the crutches.”</p><p>Elwin nodded. “But you can fight. I mean, I’ve seen you fight. It’s just really-”</p><p>“Don’t say ‘inspirational,’” Arie interrupted. “Because if you say that I’ll have to leave you right here in the middle of Elvendawn.”</p><p>“I wasn’t going to say that,” Elwin said quickly. “I don’t know what I was going to say, to be honest. You just must be really strong.”</p><p>“It took a lot of training,” Arie said. “But there’s so much I can’t do, that I’ll never be able to do no matter how much I practice, like carving. Fighting is something I’m good at. And the crutches give me a bit of an advantage, even. No one expects the tiny elf with crutches to be a good fighter. I’ve always got the element of surprise with me. Plus, the crutches make decent weapons.” </p><p>Elwin laughed. “You could probably even retrofit them with swords. Make them even more dangerous.”</p><p>Arie’s mouth fell open. “That...that is genius, Elwin!” </p><p>Elwin stood up, grabbed one of Arie’s crutches, and started pretending it was a sword. “Like a sword cane, only better!”</p><p>“I bet the Verdant Guard could figure out a way to do it,” Arie said. “Maybe then they’d see me as an asset. I’ll have to mention that in my interview. If I get an interview.”</p><p>“You’ll get one,” Elwin said. “Now, let’s go find some fey doors.” He handed Arie back her crutch and pulled her to her feet.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Protest</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“She’s like our own little fairy,” Meriele said as she and Carric watched three-year-old Arie crouched down in front of a fey door.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Not that much bigger than one, is she,” Carric said, smiling. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>“No matter what happens, she’s perfect,” Meriele said. “Happy Elvendawn.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Happy Elvendawn.” </i>
</p><p>*</p><p>“This one’s beautiful,” Arie said, pointing to a tiny lavender door just inside an alleyway. The alley looked as though it had been recently cleaned and the lavender door had tiny daisies all over it. </p><p>“It is,” Elwin said, reaching into his bag and producing a camera. “Crouch down next to it.”</p><p>“What are you doing with that?” Arie asked, nodding at the camera.</p><p>“Well, it’s a camera. One usually takes pictures with it,” Elwin said.</p><p>Arie rolled her eyes. “I know that. I meant, are you planning to take pictures of me?”</p><p>“Well, yes,” Elwin said. </p><p>Arie sighed and slid her hands down her crutches until she was crouching on the ground in front of the fey door. “Here, take these,” she held out the crutches to Elwin.</p><p>“No, leave them in,” Elwin said, setting them down on either side of her. </p><p>“But-”</p><p>“They’re part of what makes you you, and that’s not a bad thing,” Elwin said. “I...I like everything about you, Arie, even your wonky legs.”</p><p>Arie laughed. “Wonky legs?”</p><p>“You didn’t give a real name for what it is that makes them wonky,” Elwin pointed out.</p><p>“That’s because there isn’t a name,” Arie explained. “This sort of thing isn’t that common in elves and when it does happen it tends to be fixable by magic. But magic and I have a complicated relationship.”</p><p>Elwin laughed. “Look at the door.”</p><p>Arie looked at the door. Elwin snapped a few pictures, then had Arie look off into the distance, then right at the camera. Then he took a few of her opening the door. Next he had her stand up and pose next to the door, then next to the fountain across the street. And finally he had her sit on the fountain’s edge and look in a variety of directions, before finally lowering the camera.</p><p>“I’m almost out of film,” he announced, walking over to the fountain and sitting down next to Arie. </p><p>“Good,” Arie said. “I think that was a long enough photoshoot. I thought you were just going to take a picture.”</p><p>Elwin shrugged. “I like taking pictures. It’s what I do when I’m not carving. Want to try?”</p><p>“Sure,” Arie said. Her parents had a camera and Arie had tried it a few times, but Elwin’s was bigger and had a lot more buttons.</p><p>“Here,” Elwin said, holding out the camera. “You turn this dial to adjust the aperture and this one to focus it. And that one is for shutter speed. Then, look through the viewfinder and push this button to take the picture. Then wind this dial to move the film.”</p><p>Arie took the camera and looked at all the dials. She held it back out to Elwin. “You fix all the settings and then I’ll just look through the viewfinder and push the button.”</p><p>Elwin shrugged and fiddled with a few dials. Then he held it back to Arie.</p><p>Arie took the camera and held it up to her eye. She turned and faced it toward Elwin, who grinned. Arie clicked the button and the camera flashed. She lowered it and handed it back to Elwin.</p><p>“Well?” he asked.</p><p>“It’s cool,” she said. “I want to see the pictures when you get them developed.”</p><p>“Get them developed? I develop them myself. That’s half the fun. I can show you sometime, if you want.”</p><p>“Okay,” Arie said, feeling her cheeks redden. She had no desire to learn how to develop film, but she did want to spend more time with Elwin. </p><p>“Hey, buddy!”</p><p>Arie and Elwin looked up and saw a very tall elf walking toward them. A few other elves had gotten up from where they were seated and were walking very fast toward the food vendors. The tall elf seemed to have broken off from this group.</p><p>“You might want to get her out of here,” he gestured to Arie, but he was talking as if she wasn’t even there. “There are a bunch of protesters coming this way.”</p><p>“Protestors?” Elwin asked, standing up.</p><p>But the other elf had already left, running to catch up with his group.</p><p>“I don’t need anyone to ‘get me out of here,’” Arie muttered as she stood up and craned her neck to look down the road. </p><p>“Of course you don’t,” Elwin said, “but maybe we should get out of here.”</p><p>“I want to see what’s going on,” Arie said stubbornly. </p><p>“Then let’s at least step back,” Elwin said, pulling Arie around to the side of the fountain. </p><p>Arie let herself be pulled to the side, but kept her eyes fixed on the street. A few minutes later a large group brandishing large signs on sticks appeared. The group was far more diverse than Syngorn itself, with humans, gnomes, dwarves, and halflings as well as elves, which told Arie most of them were not Syngorn citizens. But it was the man leading the pack that caused Arie to gasp and stumble forward.</p><p>“Arie,” Elwin said, catching her. </p><p>“Thanks,” Arie said, righting herself. “But Elwin...that elf in front? I saw him in the Government Center last week, when I turned in my application. He was upset, claiming the form he filled out had gone unanswered and he demanded an appointment with the Council.”</p><p>Elwin’s face looked grim. “Look what their signs say.”</p><p>Arie looked. One said ‘You stole our children - and now you’re covering it up.’ Another said, ‘We demand you listen to us.’ Another ‘Our children deserve justice.’ </p><p>“Listen to what they’re saying,” Elwin said.</p><p>Arie listened. Over and over they were shouting, “We demand justice! Justice for our children!” </p><p>“Arie, do you remember what happened last year?” Elwin asked.</p><p>Arie gasped again. “Look who’s behind them!”</p><p>The Verdant Guard was following the protestors at about fifty yards. They marched, silent, their bows slung over their right shoulders, a quiver of arrows over the left. They looked as pristine as they did during their demonstrations.</p><p>“Why aren’t they arresting them?” Arie asked.</p><p>“Because they haven’t done anything wrong. They’re protesting peacefully, but the Guard must expect that not to last.”</p><p>Everyone, vendors, merchants, and those celebrating had paused to watch the protestors. They had passed Arie and Elwin now, but the two stood frozen, watching the Guard. </p><p>“Arie? Did you hear me before? About last year?”</p><p>“What about last year?” Arie whispered. </p><p>“The old Verdant Lord. He was kidnapping Genasi children, and then he turned into a dragon? Something like that. I thought the government was paying out huge settlements to the parents and the children themselves. But now ...”</p><p>“I bet that’s what that guy was so upset about in the Government Center,” Arie said. “He probably hasn’t gotten his settlement. But he also said they’re covering something up.”</p><p>“They’re covering up that it happened at all,” Elwin said. “Think about it. Have you seen any articles about it since? Or even heard anything about it? I bet if you asked a dozen elves here if they knew about it, at least eight of them would say no. Even you forgot about it.”</p><p>“But to be fair I don’t really follow the news,” Arie pointed out. </p><p>“Wouldn’t matter if you did. There hasn’t been a single article about it since the morning after that group of adventurers killed the dragon.”</p><p>That Arie did remember. She remembered reading about the group of adventurers who defeated the Verdant Lord and thinking how cool it would’ve been to be a part of that.</p><p>“Would you ever want to do that?” Arie asked.</p><p>“Do what?”</p><p>“Go on the road like they did, fighting bad guys and going on epic adventures,” Arie said. </p><p>“Not really,” Elwin said. “I’m not much of a fighter.”</p><p>Arie nodded. She could see herself doing that. She knew she couldn’t stay in Syngorn her whole life, especially if she didn’t get into the Verdant Guard.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. The Full Moon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“Stop the bleeding and go to the horses. Leave the wagon and go to Syngorn. The Miralars. I’ll catch up after I deal with...this,” he said, wrapping both of them in the cloak and pressing part of it to Arie’s arm. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Meriele nodded, her face almost as white as Arie’s. “Is she…”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“She’s alive,” Carric said. “But she needs healing spells. Fast. Do what you can and take her to the Miralars.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>The werewolf let out a snarl as it escaped Meriele’s spell and ran toward them. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Go!” Carric shouted.</i>
</p><p>*</p><p>“Elwin asked about you today,” Meriele said to Arie, who was laying on the couch under a blanket. “I think that boy likes you.”</p><p>Arie blushed and pulled the blanket up higher over her face. She had only seen Elwin once, briefly, since Elvendawn, due to the impending full moon. A few days prior to each full moon, Arie got incredibly anxious and didn’t want Elwin to see her like that, so she had stayed home. </p><p>“What did you tell him?” Arie asked.</p><p>“That you weren’t feeling well,” Meriele said, handing her another steaming mug of calming potion. </p><p>Arie drank the entire mug at once, finding it easier to stomach the foul taste if she didn’t linger over it. </p><p>“It’s nice to see you spending time with someone your own age,” Meriele continued, taking Arie’s empty mug. “I often wonder if we did the right thing, schooling you alone, but I just can’t see how it would’ve worked otherwise. All the groups focus so much on magic…”</p><p>Arie turned to face the back of the couch and let the potion overcome her, tuning out the sound of her mother’s voice. Her mother often grew wistful like this the day of the full moon, questioning every single decision she’d made as a parent. Arie learned long ago these musings didn’t actually require responses.</p><p>An hour before the moon’s rise Meriele brought Arie a goblet of Wolfsbane Potion, the elixir that would keep her sane once the moon rose. Its taste was even worse than calming potion, which would be hard for anyone who had only ever had calming potion to believe. But Arie swallowed it all the same, knowing that it would be worth it to keep her mind during the full moon. </p><p>Arie’s father returned home shortly after she took the potion. The full moon was the only night a month Arie’s parents both took the night off from the shop, leaving Elwin to handle things. Prior to hiring Elwin, the only one of her parents took the night off, not wanting to arouse suspicions. </p><p>“C’mon, Arie, honey, it’s time to go,” Meriele whispered.</p><p>Arie knew this, her bone, joint, and muscle aches reaching a point where she soon wouldn’t be able to walk until after the transformation was complete. Still, she allowed her father to pick her up and carry her outside, to the second shed in the backyard, the one that did not contain a vast assortment of weapons.</p><p>This shed was reinforced by magic and was there solely for Arie to transform in. Even when she took Wolfsbane, Arie had to transform in the shed, just in case she’d taken a bad batch or it wasn’t working for some reason. From the outside, it didn’t look like much, just a wooden shed almost identical to the weapon shed. But it was reinforced by so many spells that it was near impossible for anyone or anything to break in or out. Inside the shed was a magically reinforced bed and small wooden chest. </p><p>Carric carried Arie to the shed, whispered the spell to open the door, and carried her inside. Meriele followed. Carric placed Arie on the bed and squeezed her hand. </p><p>“We’ll be here in the morning,” Carric said, as he always did.</p><p>“As soon as the moon is set,” Meriele finished, as she always did. “We love you.”</p><p>“Love you, too,” Arie mumbled. </p><p>Carric and Meriele left, shutting the door behind them. Arie reached over to the chest and opened it. Wincing, she shrugged off her tunic and pants, placing them inside the chest. She wrapped herself in a blanket and laid down on the bed. The moon would rise in fifteen minutes. She closed her eyes and waited. </p><p>*</p><p>The next thing Arie knew she was herself again. Despite the fact that she kept her mind while on Wolfsbane, she never remembered much the next morning other than a few hazy memories. The bed was now covered in hundreds of tiny, blond wolf hairs, which told her the wolf most likely curled up and napped for most of the night. Not that Arie was benefiting from that nap. She felt achy and exhausted, as she always did the day after the full moon. </p><p>She opened the chest and changed back into her tunic and pants and sat back on the bed to wait for her parents. Since she was unable to do magic, she was unable to let herself out of the shed in the morning, not that she could’ve gotten very far since she never had her crutches with her in the shed. </p><p>A few minutes later the door to the shed clicked open and Carric and Meriele hurried inside. Carric was carrying Arie’s crutches. Meriele had a steaming mug, containing Arie’s usual post-full moon potion for pain and sleep. </p><p>Meriele set the potion down on top of the chest and wrapped Arie in a big hug. “You’re okay?”</p><p>Arie nodded. “No worse than usual.”</p><p>“Good,” Meriele said, letting her go. She handed her the mug.</p><p>Carric and Meriele waited while Arie drank the potion. This one tasted marginally better than Wolfsbane and calming potion, but it certainly wasn’t as good as tea. Arie drank it in a few gulps.</p><p>“Can you walk?” Carric asked once Arie handed the mug back to Meriele.</p><p>“Yeah,” Arie said. </p><p>Carric handed her the crutches and the three of them set off for the house, Arie walking quite a bit slower than usual as her legs figured out how to be elf legs once again. </p><p>Once inside, Arie headed straight for her room and collapsed into her bed. The potion her mom gave her worked well enough after the full moon, but the best cure for the post-moon exhaustion was sleep. Arie buried herself under the covers and was asleep within minutes.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. The Letter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“We need a plan on how we’re going to deal with this.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Meriele rubbed her eyes once more and nodded. “Right. Yes. We make it clear with Arie that she can’t tell anyone.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“More than that,” Carric said, getting up. “She can’t transform here, above the shop, when the shop is open.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“So we close it every full moon,” Meriele said.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“That would be too suspicious. It wouldn’t take long for someone to figure out the Whimsical Crate is closed every full moon. No...I think we compromise. We technically stay in Syngorn, keep the shop and everything, but we move to the Verdant Expanse. Buy a bunch of land, build a house. An accessible house, for Arie. It’s not practical for her to be climbing the stairs to the second floor here much longer. She begs me to carry her every time.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Me too,” Meriele said. “Okay. That could...that could work. No one would think that suspicious, us building a house that’s more accessible for Arie outside the city. There’s nowhere left to build inside the city.”</i>
</p><p>Arie awoke to the sound of whispering. She rolled over and rubbed her eyes, letting them adjust to the sunlight streaming in through her open windows. She had no idea what time it was, but it must’ve been hours later if the sun was that high in the sky, although she still felt groggy. </p><p>The door was ajar, allowing the whispers to drift their way into Arie’s room. She strained her ears to listen.</p><p>“This is your fault, Carric,” Meriele snapped. “I told you training her as a fighter would put ideas in her head.”</p><p>“I never once gave her the impression she could join the Verdant Guard,” Carric replied. “I wanted her to be able to protect herself.”</p><p>“What do you think a little kid is going to think if you train them to use scimitars and swords and bows and arrows?” Meriele said, her voice rising. “You were in the Verdant Guard!”</p><p>“For a month!” Carric said. “That hardly counts. And I never once told Arie it was a viable career choice for her.”</p><p>Arie pulled the blankets over her head. Her letter from the Verdant Guard had arrived. And judging by her parents’ response, she must’ve gotten through to the interview round! Why else would they be so angry? If she didn’t get in, they’d have nothing to be angry about. </p><p>“Lower your voice,” Meriele said. “I think she’s awake.”</p><p>Arie heard footsteps and the creak of her bedroom door open wider. Slowly, she lowered the blankets away from her face. Both of her parents stood at the edge of the bed, their expressions angry and scared at the same time. Her mother clutched a piece of paper in her left hand. </p><p>“Care to explain this?” Meriele asked, holding up the letter.</p><p>Arie held out her hand. “I want to read it.”</p><p>Meriele hesitated, looking at Carric. </p><p>“It’s mine,” Arie said. “You opened my mail-”</p><p>“Of course I opened your mail! You got a letter from the Verdant Guard! Arie, I thought you were in trouble,” Meriele said.</p><p>“Give it to her,” Carric said quietly.</p><p>Meriele sighed and handed Arie the paper.</p><p>Arie couldn’t help but grin as she smoothed the paper out on the bed in front of her. The Verdant Guard’s logo took up the top third of the paper. Below it said:</p><p>Dear Ms. Siannodel,</p><p>We are pleased to inform you that you have made it through the initial screening for the next class of Verdant Guard soldiers. If you wish to continue the process, please present yourself at Beryl Keep on 1 Sydenstar at 1pm. Please keep in mind this is a rigorous process and only 20 elves are expected to be accepted into the next class. </p><p>Be prepared for academic, physical, and mental exams on 1 Sydenstar. If you do not wish to continue this process, please send a letter informing us of this at Beryl Keep. </p><p>Sincerely,<br/>Alandra Trisphra<br/>Head Recruiter<br/>Verdant Guard<br/>Beryl Keep<br/>Syngorn</p><p>Arie couldn’t believe it. She’d done it. She’d made it past the initial screening and in a few days’ time would be going to Beryl Keep for the next steps. </p><p>“I got in,” Arie whispered.</p><p>“Well?” Meriele said. “Care to explain yourself?”</p><p>“I-I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Arie said quietly. “I...applied to join the Verdant Guard.”</p><p>“We got that, Arie,” Carric said, sighing as he sat down on the bed. “But why? Help us understand-”</p><p>“I want to join the Verdant Guard,” Arie said. “That’s the explanation.” </p><p>“Arie, you can’t honestly think-” Meriele began.</p><p>“What, Mom?” Arie interrupted, her face warming. “Are you really going to finish that sentence?”</p><p>“I’m sorry, Arie, I know we’ve told you you can do anything, but this? This is where we have to draw the line. There are some things you can’t do and this is one of them. You cannot join the Verdant Guard!” Meriele snapped. </p><p>Arie recoiled. It was one thing to have the rest of the world tell her she couldn’t do something, but her own mother? “And why is that, Mom?”</p><p>Meriele sputtered. “Arie- I-”</p><p>“Say it,” Arie whispered. </p><p>“I’m not going to say it, Arie,” Meriele said.</p><p>“Meriele. Arie,” Carric said, standing up. “If we can discuss this rationally-”</p><p>“I want her to say it,” Arie said. “Say I can’t join because I’m not normal. Because there’s something wrong with me. Because I’m broken!”</p><p>“Arie, you’re not broken-” Carric began.</p><p>“But I am, right? That’s why I can’t join. It’s not because I can’t fight, because you know more than anyone that I can-”</p><p>“Arie, enough!” Carric shouted. “I agree with your mother on this. You can’t join the Verdant Guard. And it’s not just us that’s saying that. Did you tell them about your legs?”</p><p>“No,” Arie muttered. “And I didn’t lie either. There was nothing in that application that asked whether your legs worked normally.”</p><p>“Because it’s never happened before,” Meriele said, sighing. </p><p>“So why can’t I be the first?” Arie asked, crossing her arms over her chest. </p><p>“Because it’s dangerous,” Carric said. “You’re an excellent fighter. But there are some things that are just not physically possible...others are going to have the upper hand on you simply because they can move faster than you or hold more weapons than you.”</p><p>“Then I’ll figure out ways around that, which I’ve been doing my whole life,” Arie said. “Elwin and I-”</p><p>“Did he help you with this?” Meriele interrupted. “After we brought him on as an apprentice? If he filled out this application for you, so help me-”</p><p>“He didn’t!” Arie said. “I swear he didn’t. It was...it was Iefr.”</p><p>“Elwin’s brother,” Carric said. “He’s in the Guard. He told you this was possible?”</p><p>“Sort of,” Arie said. “He doesn’t know if they’ll take me”</p><p>“They aren’t going to take you,” Meriele said quietly. “Don’t you get that? Honey, I want you to do everything you want to do, but unfortunately that’s just not possible-”</p><p>“Then what can I do?” Arie shouted, her eyes welling up. She hastily rubbed them before continuing. “Because I can’t do magic, I can’t carve, and now I can’t join the Guard. There’s nothing!”</p><p>Carric and Meriele said nothing.</p><p>“See?” Arie said, her voice cracking. “I have to do this. I have to try. And if you’re so sure I won’t get in, why can’t I try?”</p><p>“Arie, we don’t want you to get hurt,” Carric said. “And I don’t just mean physically.”</p><p>“I know I might not get in. But I have to try. Can’t you see that?” Arie pleaded. </p><p>Meriele sighed. “You know what? Fine. Go to Beryl Keep and see what they say. Just remember that Syngornian elves are not very accepting of people who are different. You’ve seen their demonstrations. They all look exactly the same. They march at the same speed and they move in unison.”</p><p>“I know, Mom,” Arie said quietly, wiping away a stray tear off her cheek. “I’ve been like this my whole life. I know what people think and I’ve heard what they say. But I need to try.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Elwin's Confession</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“This will be perfect,” Meriele said as she and Carric stood in front of the cottage. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>“No neighbors for miles,” Carric said. “And there are two sheds in the back. We can reinforce one with magic for Arie to...to transform.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“It won’t be a bad place to grow up,” Meriele said. “It’s peaceful and she’ll learn more about nature…”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Not bad at all.”</i>
</p><p><i>“Just a little lonely, perhaps.”</i> </p><p>Later that night Arie sat at a booth in the back corner at the Demon and Hound, nursing a pint of the pub’s cheapest beer, waiting for Elwin. Shortly after their conversation about the Verdant Guard, Arie’s father had left for the shop. A couple hours later, once she was satisfied Arie was fully recovered from the full moon, her mother joined him. Arie waited another hour, then set off for Syngorn. She’d sent Elwin a hastily written letter asking him to meet her. Since he’d manned the shop by himself the previous night, she knew he wouldn’t be working.</p><p>Arie had to tell Elwin about the Verdant Guard. He, unlike her parents, would be properly excited for her and would understand what this meant. She wanted to tell Iefr, too, but had no idea how to contact him at Beryl Keep.</p><p>Arie’s gaze drifted out into the pub and she watched as two dwarves started fighting with each other near the bar. One of them drew a sword and Conga promptly threw the both of them out onto the street. She tended to look the other way when it was just fists, but as soon as weapons were drawn, she had zero tolerance. </p><p>The door opened and Arie wondered if one of the dwarves was attempting to get back inside, but instead Elwin walked in. Arie waved at him and he nodded in her direction, but made a pit stop at the bar for a pint before joining her at the back booth.</p><p>“Hey,” he said, sliding in across from her. </p><p>“Hey,” Arie said, “you got my note.”</p><p>“I did,” Elwin grinned. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. On it, written in large, uneven print, was ‘Demon and Hound - 8pm.’ Arie hadn’t even bothered signing it. “How are you feeling?”</p><p>Arie raised an eyebrow at him. “Er..why?”</p><p>“Your parents said you were sick,” Elwin said, not meeting her gaze.</p><p>“Oh, um, I’m better now,” Arie muttered.</p><p>Elwin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I have a confession to make. I probably should’ve told you this earlier, like before I asked you to Elvendawn, but there just wasn’t a good time-”</p><p>“What is it?” Arie interrupted.</p><p>“Um, I know,” he said quietly.</p><p>“What do you mean, you know? What do you know?” Arie asked.</p><p>“I know,” Elwin repeated, leaning across the table. </p><p>Arie’s heart fell into her stomach. Her right hand twitched and knocked over her glass, sending beer across the table toward Elwin. He knew.</p><p>“S-sorry!” she said at the same moment Elwin jumped up to avoid the beer.</p><p>“It’s okay,” Elwin said. He muttered something under his breath and the beer vanished. “My mom taught me all the cleaning spells.”</p><p>Arie shakily grabbed her glass and stood it up right again. “Um...can you tell me...what exactly it is that you know?”</p><p>“I know why you were sick last night,” Elwin whispered. “And that it happens once a month.”</p><p>“But how?” Arie asked. Her hands were still shaking, so she hastily shoved them under her thighs. She and her parents had been so careful. Her parents. Elwin worked for them. “Did my parents tell you? Because they had no right-”</p><p>“No!” Elwin interrupted. “No. And I didn’t even realize I knew until that day Iefr helped you fill out your Verdant Guard application and you mentioned that you saw my parents when you were little to see if they could…”</p><p>“Fix me?” Arie supplied.</p><p>Elwin sighed. “No, I mean...for lack of a better term…”</p><p>“I know what you mean.”</p><p>“Anyway, I remember the night your parents brought you in...after you’d been attacked,” Elwin confessed.</p><p>Arie gasped. “But your parents have so many patients.”</p><p>“I know. And I don’t usually see them. My parents have an office connected to our house and that’s where they always saw their patients. But the night you were attacked my parents weren’t working. Your mom and dad banged on our front door until my dad answered. I had followed him to the door and was there when he opened it. Your dad was holding you, wrapped in a blanket, but your hair was sticking out.”</p><p>“But that could’ve been anyone-”</p><p>“It was you. Your mom was carrying your crutches,” Elwin said. “My mom shooed me away, but I sat on the stairs and listened. No one noticed me because they were all focused on you.”</p><p>Arie swallowed hard and stared at the table where the spilled beer had been. She was glad she hadn’t drunk all of it because her stomach was turning over. Elwin knew. He knew this whole time. But he was still there. He hadn’t run away. He even wanted to spend time with her.</p><p>“Does Iefr know?” Arie asked quietly.</p><p>Elwin nodded. “Yeah. He was there, too. But neither of us have ever told anyone. And we won’t.”  </p><p>The two sat quietly for a few minutes, Elwin drinking his beer and Arie taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. </p><p>“Elwin, can I ask you something?”</p><p>“Of course.”</p><p>Arie took another deep breath before continuing. “You...you knew this whole time, but you still want to hang out with me. At least I think you do.”</p><p>“I do,” Elwin said, nodding. </p><p>“Why?” Arie asked. </p><p>“Because like the fact that your legs don’t know how to function as proper legs, I couldn’t care less that you’ve got lycanthropy. I mean, I wish you didn’t have it, but it’s not going to stop me from being friends with you. And if it did, I think that would make me a pretty shitty person,” Elwin said.</p><p>Arie smiled. “You’re not like most elves, are you, Elwin.”</p><p>Elwin shrugged. “I suppose not. But if looking down on people or refusing to be their friend because of things they can’t control is what most elves do, then I’d rather not be like most elves.” </p><p>“And obviously I’m not like most elves, either,” Arie added. “But enough about that.” She reached into her pocket and removed the letter from the Verdant Guard. She placed it on the table. “Read it.”</p><p>Elwin furrowed his brow and picked up the paper. He read it, his eyes widening. “Does this mean-”</p><p>“I got an interview,” Arie said, grinning. </p><p>“You did it!” Elwin exclaimed. “Congratulations!” </p><p>“Well, I still have to pass all the tests-”</p><p>“But you’re over the first hurdle,” Elwin said. “They usually get hundreds of applications but only ever take a hundred or so to test. It’s not just Syngornian elves who apply. It’s elves all over Tal’Dorei.” </p><p>Arie hadn’t thought of that. </p><p>“There is something about you they liked,” Elwin said. “And I don’t blame them one bit. Now, come on, we’ve got to go tell Iefr.”</p><p>“How? He’s at Beryl Keep.” </p><p>“We’ll send him an letter,” Elwin said, standing up.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Beryl Keep</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>Carric watched as his daughter tore the wrapping off the box. She yanked the top off and reached inside, emerging with a shiny, steel sword. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was brand new. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Dad…” Arie whispered, gripping the sword’s hilt tightly. “You got me a sword?”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“I did,” Carric said, placing his hand on Arie’s shoulder. “I’m going to teach you to fight.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“But why?” Arie asked. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Because the whole world is going to tell you you can’t.”</i>
</p><p>On the morning of 1 Sydenstar Arie’s mother said nothing to her before leaving for the shop. Her father squeezed her shoulder on his way out the door and said, almost inaudibly, “good luck.” Neither of them had said much to Arie ever since she announced she was planning to continue the process to get into the Verdant Guard. Arie had spent the days practicing, but her father hadn’t practiced with her. </p><p>After her parents left, Arie threw out the remainder of her breakfast, as she was too nervous to finish it. She made her way to the weapon shed and threw the doors open. She didn’t know whether the Guard would have her demonstrate with her own weapons or if she would have to use weapons they provided, but she wanted to be prepared. Taking all of her weapons was impractical, so after careful consideration, Arie selected her nicest  longbow, a quiver of arrows, four daggers, and two hand axes. She paused on her way out of the shed to look at her very first short sword, the one her father got her for her ninth birthday. It was a little rusty and slightly bent, but she grabbed it anyway, shoving it into her backpack. </p><p>Her weapons packed, Arie set off for the Demon and Hound, where she was to meet Elwin. He wanted to walk her to Beryl Keep.</p><p>The Demon and Hound was much emptier during the day, but there was still a dedicated group of day drinkers at the bar, one dwarf in particular who looked very drunk. Arie barely had time to notice this before she was nearly knocked over by Conga, who wrapped her in a gigantic hug. </p><p>“Arie,” she said, squeezing her tightly, then letting go and holding Arie out at an arm’s length. “Are you sure you want to do this?”</p><p>Arie had shown Conga her letter from the Verdant Guard the same night she’d showed Elwin. </p><p>“Yes,” Arie said. </p><p>Conga sighed. “Come here.” She led Arie to an empty table. “Sit.” </p><p>Arie sat. “You’re not going to convince me not to, are you?”</p><p>“No,” Conga said as she began braiding Arie’s hair. “I’ve known you long enough to know that would be a waste of breath. What I will say is that you are young, Arie. Whatever happens, don’t let this control your life.” </p><p>“You’re saying you don’t think I’ll get in,” Arie said.</p><p>“I didn’t say that,” Conga said. “I get many Guard soldiers in here on their days off. The Guard is about conformity, Arie. You’re not-”</p><p>“I know, I know, I’m not like other elves,” Arie interrupted. </p><p>“I’m not talking about your legs, Arie,” Conga said quietly, as she tied off the end of Arie’s braid. “What I’m saying is, whether you are accepted into the Guard or not, don’t let them crush your spirit.”</p><p>Before Arie could say anything to this, the door opened and Elwin walked in. Arie stood up. “Elwin,” she said.</p><p>“Are you ready?” he asked, walking toward Arie’s table. </p><p>Arie nodded. </p><p>“Good luck,” Conga said</p><p>“Thanks,” Arie whispered. </p><p>Arie and Elwin set off for Beryl Keep, neither of them saying much. Arie was focused on what would happen once she reached Beryl Keep. Iefr told her she and the other potential recruits would first sit for an exam that would cover the basic academics that all elves are supposed to learn before turning 18. Arie was not worried about this. Despite her dislike for academia and difficulties with reading and writing, she had been a fairly good student. Iefr had informed her the exam would be all multiple choice, so she wouldn’t have to worry about writing an essay. Immediately following the exam the potential recruits would take a psychological exam, which was also all multiple choice. </p><p>Following that would be a short break for lunch while the recruiters marked the exams. Everyone who passed would receive an interview with one of the recruiters in the afternoon. Whoever did well enough in their interview to pass on to the next step would return the following day for the physical tests. Arie was slightly worried about these. Iefr said all potential soldiers were required to run a mile and Arie was almost positive she couldn’t do that. She hoped to impress the recruiter enough with her fighting skills that they wouldn’t care if she couldn’t run a mile.</p><p>Arie and Elwin stopped once they reached the gates of Beryl Keep. The main gate, which was normally closed, was open today. A very tall man wearing the green uniform of the Verdant Guard stood near it, brandishing a long piece of paper. </p><p>Arie turned to Elwin. “Thanks for walking me.”</p><p>Elwin nodded. “Good luck, Arie.” He wrapped Arie in a hug so tight she lost her balance and fell onto him. “Sorry,” Elwin muttered. </p><p>“It’s okay,” Arie said, bracing herself against her crutches. “I’ll go to the shop once I’m done.”</p><p>“Good. I want to hear all about it,” Elwin said. </p><p>With that, Arie turned to face Beryl Keep.</p><p>*</p><p>“Name?” the elf guarding the gate said, without looking up from the paper.</p><p>“Arie Siannodel,” Arie said.</p><p>“Siannodel...Siannodel…” the elf muttered. “Ah,” he said, finally looking up. His eyes widened, then narrowed on her crutches. “Wait a minute. That can’t be right. What are you here for?”</p><p>“Verdant Guard interviews,” Arie said, pulling her letter out of her pocket and handing it to the guard. </p><p>The elf took the letter and read it. “Huh. Arie Siannodel. But that can’t be right. You can’t-”</p><p>Arie groaned and took her Syngorn ID card out of her other pocket, handing it to the elf. </p><p>“Huh,” the elf said again. “Well...still can’t be right-”</p><p>“I swear it is,” Arie said. </p><p>“Well….go on in, I guess,” the guard said, handing back the letter and ID.</p><p>Arie snatched them and shoved them back into her pocket. She hitched her bag up higher on her shoulders and walked through the gate, glaring at the guard as she did so. </p><p>The grounds of Beryl Keep, like everything else owned by the Syngornian government, were pristine. Perfectly groomed trees and hedges framed immaculately green grass and perfectly even walkways. Arie counted no fewer than six statues of famous elven fighters and two marble fountains. </p><p>The walkway led to a set of stairs that were mercifully shorter than the stairs leading to the Government Center. Arie climbed them, ignoring the stares of the various elves who passed her as she did so. At the top a heavy oak door was propped open. Arie walked inside and found herself in a marble entryway similar to that in the Government Center.</p><p>Three elves sat at a table near the door and there was a short queue in front of it. Arie stood at the end and waited. She noticed every elf was given a booklet of some sort and then walked up another set of stairs and disappeared down a hallway.</p><p>“Name and ID?” a woman with her red hair in a tight bun, wearing the Guard uniform, said once it was Arie’s turn.</p><p>Arie fished her ID out of her pocket and handed it over. “Arie Siannodel.”</p><p>The woman furrowed her brow, looking from the paper in front of her, to Arie’s ID, to Arie (eyes narrowing on her crutches), and back. “Hmm…this can’t be right.”</p><p>Arie sighed. “It is. I applied. I got the letter. I’m Arie.”</p><p>“Vamir,” the woman said, holding out Arie’s ID to the elf next to her. “She’s on the list and she got the letter, but…”</p><p>Vamir looked at the ID, then at Arie, raising his eyebrows. “Huh,” he said. “If her name’s on the list, you’ve got to let her in. Those were the orders.”</p><p>“I know what the orders were. But she can’t-”</p><p>“That’s for someone else to deal with,” Vamir said. “We don’t get paid enough for that.”</p><p>The woman shrugged, then handed Arie back her ID. “All right, then. Take this. It’s your exam book. The questions will appear once the exam begins. Straight up the stairs, take a left, first door on your right.” She handed Arie a blank booklet.</p><p>“Thanks,” Arie muttered, not meeting her gaze. She took the booklet, rolled it up, and shoved it into her pocket. </p><p>Arie set off up the next flight of stairs, finding it harder to ignore the stares of the other elves now that she’d been questioned twice about whether she was supposed to be there or not. Was that what this entire day was going to be like? Every single member of the Verdant Guard questioning her and trying to hide their shock? </p><p>Upstairs, Arie followed the other elves into the first room on the right. It was filled with desks. At the front of the room were two more Guard members, surveying the group. Arie took the first empty seat she could find, set her crutches down on the floor, and set her exam book on the desk. There was a pot of ink and two quills already there. </p><p>Arie guessed there were about 100 elves in the room. Well over half of them were men. Arie was by far the smallest one there, everyone else (both men and women), looking like they were on the tall side for elves. Only the few sitting right near Arie seemed to notice her and all were now pointedly not looking at her. </p><p>A few minutes later, one of the Guard members at the front of the room shut the door. He walked back over to where he was before. “At the sound of the bell, the questions will appear on your exam booklet. You will have one hour. Please fill the bubbles in completely. Make sure to put your name on your paper. If you do not, you will be disqualified, as all Guard members should be able to follow simple orders. When you are done, sit and wait. At the end of the hour, all exams will be collected and the psychological examination will be passed out.” </p><p>A minute later a bell sounded and Arie’s exam booklet filled with questions. She hurriedly scratched her name on top of the paper, writing it large so that it was somewhat legible. </p><p>The questions were organized by subject. Elven history, Tal’dorei history, Syngorn history, language, magical theory, and mathematics. The entire exam was in Elvish, which Arie knew going in. She was grateful for it since she couldn’t read common, but it made her wonder whether non-elves were even allowed in the Verdant Guard. She suspected not. </p><p>The only questions Arie struggled with were those on magical theory. Her parents hadn’t focused much on that since she couldn’t do any magic. But Arie suspected she passed anyway.</p><p>At the end of the hour the elves running the exam collected the papers and passed out another booklet. This one was not blank and they were allowed to start as soon as they received it. </p><p>The psychological exam consisted of mostly ‘what would you do if’ type questions. There were also a large number of ‘agree’ or ‘disagree’ type questions. Arie hadn’t the slightest clue what they were looking for in terms of answers, so she answered honestly. </p><p>After this exam they were to bring the booklet to the front of the room, then return to the grounds to wait and see if they passed. Arie turned her booklet in, then set off for the grounds. </p><p>Most of the other elves had finished before Arie and were now milling around the grounds. Arie headed to one of the fountains, where she intended to eat the roast beef sandwich she’d brought for lunch. </p><p>“Did you see her?” someone whispered. </p><p>Arie froze, then looked to see where the voice was coming from. A group of four or five elves were sitting under a large tree. Arie stepped to her right to hide behind a hedge, but peered her head around to listen.</p><p>“They won’t let her continue. It must’ve been some sort of mistake. I mean, obviously she can’t fight,” another said. </p><p>The first one laughed. “Can you imagine?”</p><p>“What’s wrong with her do you think?”</p><p>“No idea,” the first one said. “I know her parents own the Whimsical Crate. You know, the place with all the crazy magical carvings?”</p><p>“Why does she want to join the Guard, then? Her parents make a killing there. She should just go into carving.”</p><p>“They hired an apprentice, though,” the second elf said. “So clearly she’s not.”</p><p>Arie sank down onto the ground, her face hot. She put her hood up and attempted to hide amongst the leaves. She left her sandwich in her bag. She wasn’t hungry anymore.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. A Chance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“Put all your weight on your left crutch,” Carric said, shifting his own weight to his left leg to show her. “Then, you can let your right crutch dangle off your arm and wield the sword.” </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Arie shifted her weight, but the crutch shifted and she landed on the ground. She winced and let out a cry as her elbow hit a rock.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“You’re okay, you’re okay,” Carric said, picking her up and setting her back on her feet. “Really dig the crutch into the ground.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Arie did as he said and this time she stayed up. Grinning, she looked up at him. “There!”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“That’s it,” Carric said, holding out the sword. “Now, take it.”</i>
</p><p>Arie stayed where she was, half-hidden in the hedge, until one of the recruiters came outside and made an announcement that the results were in and everyone was to return to the same room in which they took the exams. Arie waited a few moments to make sure the elves she overheard would be far ahead of her in the group returning inside. </p><p>Arie was the last to enter the room, ensuring every single recruit and recruiter stared at her as she took the only remaining empty seat, which happened to be in the back. Thankfully the elves who had been talking about her on the break were sitting near the front, although Arie had a feeling everyone in the room was thinking everything they’d said. </p><p>As she sat down, Arie tried to hide her face in her hood, as her cheeks were now bright red. She simultaneously wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole and see the reactions on everyone’s faces when she surely passed the exams and moved onto the next step. </p><p>A black-haired woman entered the room. Her pale skin had a greenish hue to it, almost matching her Guard uniform. She was tall, like most of the other elves in the Guard, but she was heavier than most elves. Unlike the other Guard elves Arie had seen so far today, this woman had insignia on her uniform tunic. Arie, however, was too far away to see what it meant. </p><p>The elf cleared her throat and the room quieted. “Good afternoon. My name is Alandra Trisphra, Head Recruiter, and I want to thank you all for coming today. We have finished marking the exams and are happy to announce that 59 of you will move on to the interview portion of this process. The other recruiters,” she gestured to the four other elves behind her, “and myself will conduct the interviews. I will read the names of those who have moved on. If your name is not called, please exit Beryl Keep. If your name is called, please remain in your seat. Exam results will not be posted, distributed, or discussed with anyone, whether you have moved on or not.”</p><p>Alandra Trisphra paused while she unrolled a scroll. She began reading names in alphabetical order. Arie watched for the reactions of those around her, but there were hardly any reactions at all. Everyone, it seemed, was taking their results calmly.</p><p>“...Shanrria Ravanorin...Llarm Rocan...Arie Siannodel…”</p><p>Arie let out a gasp, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand. She didn’t hear anything else Alandra said. She was in. She’d done it. She had passed both exams, even after the recruiters saw her crutches. </p><p>“Thank you,” Alandra finished. “If your name was not called, please exit now.”</p><p>There was a shuffle of chairs and a bit of muttering as just under half the people there got up and left. Arie couldn’t help but smile when she saw that three out of the four elves who had talked about her during the break did not pass their exams. </p><p>“As for the rest of you, please wait here until your name is called for an interview. We will begin with Thaola Arawenys, Malin Bibalar, Ailre Brykas, Ailuin Cailee, and Aumanas Chaephyra.”</p><p>Three men and two women got up and followed the recruiters out of the room. Once they were gone, the remaining elves began to whisper amongst themselves. No one even looked at Arie. </p><p>Arie counted the ceiling tiles as she waited. After fifteen minutes or so two of the recruiters returned and took two more elves out of the room. The interviewees did not return with the recruiters, so Arie assumed once the interview was done, you went home. </p><p>An hour passed, then two. Arie looked outside and saw the sun was setting. Her parents would soon be opening the shop up for the night. That was good. They’d be busy with customers when she returned, which meant she’d be able to talk to Elwin in relative privacy. </p><p>Soon, only a dozen or so elves remained. Alandra returned and looked at the paper on the desk. “Arie Siannodel,” she called, as she scribbled something onto the paper.</p><p>Arie stood and met Alandra’s gaze. Alandra’s eyes drifted down to Arie’s crutches, but she said nothing and led Arie from the room.</p><p>The two walked a short way down the stone hallway, Alandra’s shoes click-clacking as she went, as opposed to Arie’s crutches, which made a loud ‘clunking’ noise. Alandra stopped in front of an oak door and opened it, gesturing for Arie to go inside. </p><p>The room was sparsely decorated. There was one window on the wall opposite the door. An empty bookcase sat along the wall to the right. On its opposite wall was a single rusted nail with no picture hanging from it. In the middle of the room was a wooden table with two stools on opposite sides. Alandra took the stool closest to the window and gestured for Arie to take the other.</p><p>Arie sat and set her crutches down on the ground beside her. She looked up at Alandra, who had clasped her hands on the table and was staring at Arie. Her expression was unreadable, but her icy blue eyes were fierce. Now that they were so close, Arie noticed the woman’s hair also had a slight greenish hue, like her skin.</p><p>“So,” Alandra began, “you’re the elf with the crutches. Once I knew you were here, I simply had to interview you myself.”</p><p>Arie said nothing. She had no idea if this was a good or bad sign.</p><p>Alandra flipped through a stack of paper, which Arie noticed was her Verdant Guard application. “I see you did not mention anything about your...situation in your application.”</p><p>Arie swallowed hard. “There was nowhere that asked...ma’am.”</p><p>Alandra smirked, then quickly rearranged her face back into the severe look she was wearing before. “I suppose you are right about that. Perhaps we need to edit our application. Then again...I believe you are the only elf in Syngorn who has this...situation.”</p><p>Arie flinched at the word ‘situation,’ and hoped Alandra didn’t notice. </p><p>“Why do you want to join the Verdant Guard?” Alandra asked. “I’m sure there are more...suitable professions for you to join. I believe your parents own the Whimsical Crate. Perhaps you could follow in their footsteps?”</p><p>“I want to fight,” Arie said, ignoring the comment about the Whimsical Crate. “And I can fight.”</p><p>Alandra smirked again. “I’m sure you can,” she said condescendingly. “But the type of fighting we do here is more intense than I am sure you are used to. We require certain...skills and abilities that I am not sure someone like you can physically possess.”</p><p>“But I can fight,” Arie said, gripping the sides of her stool as hard as she could. “I swear to you. I’ve been training since I was nine.”</p><p>“Huh,” Alandra said, glancing at Arie’s application. “12 years. Who trained you?”</p><p>“My father,” Arie answered. </p><p>“Your father. Carric Siannodel. Well, that is interesting. He was a promising young soldier many years ago. I interviewed him myself.”</p><p>She interviewed her father? That meant Alandra had to be at least 700 years old.</p><p>“What weapons are you proficient with?” Alandra asked.</p><p>“Most weapons. Simple weapons. Melee weapons. Some finesse weapons. I can’t use two-handed weapons, but-”</p><p>“That’s enough,” Alandra interrupted, holding up her hand. “I’ll admit I wanted to interview you because I was curious, but surely you don’t think we can really accept you?”</p><p>“I don’t see why not,” Arie said, looking her straight in the eye. </p><p>Alandra’s mouth fell open, then she shook her head. “Miss Siannodel, your...obvious disability is going to make it impossible for you to physically keep up with what would be expected of you in the Verdant Guard. Unless you’re telling me this is temporary?”</p><p>Arie’s eyes burned and she bit her lip to keep them from welling up. She took a deep breath. “No. It’s not.”</p><p>Alandra sighed. “Perhaps you’d like to tell me a bit about what it is that’s…”</p><p>“Wrong with me?” Arie supplied. </p><p>“For lack of a better term-”</p><p>“I was born this way,” Arie interrupted. “I almost died when my mom gave birth to me and because I didn’t have enough oxygen I got brain damage. And my brain won’t communicate right with my legs. Or my hands, but that’s not nearly as bad. That’s what the healers said, anyway.”</p><p>“And the healers don’t have any sort of...spell to fix it?”</p><p>“Nothing works,” Arie said, not meeting her gaze. “Magic sort of...doesn’t agree with me.”</p><p>“What do you mean by that?”</p><p>“I mean I can’t do magic,” Arie confessed.</p><p>Alandra groaned and shook her head. “You mean you’re also telling me you’re an elf that can’t do magic?”</p><p>“Yes,” Arie whispered. “But I can fight!”</p><p>“No, no,” Alandra said. “No. This will not work-”</p><p>“Please!” Arie interrupted. “Let me prove it to you. Or let someone vouch for me. One of your soldiers. He’s seen me fight.”</p><p>Alandra raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”</p><p>“Iefr. Iefr Miralar,” Arie said quietly. “He’s seen me fight. He’ll vouch for me.”</p><p>“Miralar... Miralar..,” Alandra said. “Oh, yes. Fine. Why the hell not? Let’s hear what Iefr Miralar has to say.”</p><p>The woman rose from her stool and walked to the door. She threw it open. “Vamir! Vamir, go find Iefr Miralar and bring him back to me.”</p><p>She closed the door, then returned to her stool. She clasped her hands once more on the table and looked at Arie. “I am retrieving Miralar merely to satisfy my own curiosity and to see why the hell one of our soldiers would encourage you to apply to the Guard. I do not see how I could possibly accept you.”</p><p>*</p><p>Alandra said nothing more to Arie and the two waited in silence. Ten minutes later there was a knock on the door. Alandra rose to answer it. She opened the door and there was Iefr, accompanied by Vamir.</p><p>Arie let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.</p><p>“Arie?” Iefr asked, his brow furrowing. “What’s going-”</p><p>“You can go, Vamir,” Alandra said loudly, cutting off Iefr. “Private Miralar, please come in.”</p><p>Iefr walked in and since there were no other stools, stood behind Arie. </p><p>“Miss Siannodel told me you encouraged her to apply to the Verdant Guard,” Alandra said, taking her seat. “Is that correct?”</p><p>“I didn’t-” Arie began. She hadn’t said exactly that.</p><p>“Answer the question, Private,” Alandra interrupted.</p><p>“I- Yes, ma’am,” Iefr replied. </p><p>“That was stupid, Private,” Alandra said. “She also informs me you have seen her fight?”</p><p>“Yes, ma’am,” Iefr replied. “She is an excellent fighter. She would be an asset to the Guard.”</p><p>“Interesting,” Alandra said, drumming her fingers on the table, “because I would think she would be a hindrance.”</p><p>Arie winced. She felt her eyes well up again and she bit her lip even harder than before.</p><p>“May I speak plainly, ma’am?” Iefr asked.</p><p>“By all means,” Alandra said, gesturing to Iefr.</p><p>“Thank you,” Iefr said. “When Arie first told me she wanted to apply I thought it would be impossible. I didn’t think anyone with her condition could fight, let alone fight well. But she assured me she could and she demonstrated-”</p><p>“Please don’t tell me you fought her,” Alandra cut in, “because if you did, Private-”</p><p>“I did not,” Iefr assured her. “I am aware of the rules. She fought my younger brother, and she won. By a lot. My younger brother is smaller than I am, but still much larger than Arie.”</p><p>“Interesting,” Alandra said, looking at Arie. “I must admit I am curious how one would fight given your...condition.”</p><p>“Then let me show you,” Arie said, her voice cracking.</p><p>Alandra was silent for a full two minutes. She stared at Arie. “What, exactly, is the problem with your legs?”</p><p>“They don’t support my weight,” Arie explained. “The muscles are tight and weak. I can stand for a little while, but I can’t walk without the crutches.”</p><p>“They aren’t more susceptible to injury, or anything like that?” </p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Fine,” Alandra said, putting her hands on the desk. “You’ve piqued my interest. Come back tomorrow and I’ll let you fight. If you win. And that’s a big if, perhaps I will allow you to train.” </p><p>Arie didn’t think she’d heard correctly. “Seriously?” </p><p>“Seriously?” Iefr said at the same time.</p><p>Alandra nodded once. “Go home, before I change my mind. Come back tomorrow at 10am. Private Miralar, please escort Miss Siannodel to the gates. Then return to your regiment.”</p><p>“Thank you!” Arie exclaimed. “I won’t let you down. I swear I can fight.”</p><p>“Save it for tomorrow, Miss Siannodel,” Alandra said as she rose from her seat.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. The Trial</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“Keep going, Arie. It’s all about finding your balance,” Carric said.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Arie nodded as she stood up once more. She brandished the sword, leaned back onto her left crutch, and took another swing at the dummy in front of her. This time the sword made contact, slashing a three-inch hole in the front of the dummy. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>“I did it!” she shouted.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“You did!” Carric exclaimed. “Now do it again.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Arie did it again. And again. And again.</i>
</p><p>“Absolutely not!” Carric said, having heard the outcome of Arie’s Verdant Guard interview. “This has gone on long enough, Arie. I figured once they saw you they’d dismiss you. What are they playing at? Having you fight? It’s ridiculous!”</p><p>After returning from the Verdant Guard, both Meriele and Elwin were busy with customers. Carric, upon seeing Arie, had beckoned her into the back room, where they both were now. </p><p>“Why is it ridiculous, Dad?” Arie replied. “The Head Recruiter wants to see me fight! Iefr vouched for me!”</p><p>“I have half a mind to go down there and talk to Iefr. And that recruiter,” Carric said. “I’m begging you to see reason, Arie. There is only one reason why they’d want to see you fight.”</p><p>“And what is that?” Arie asked.</p><p>“Because they want to see you get beaten!” Carric said. “Because they’re curious and nosy and want to find out what would happen! They’re High Elves, Arie, and some of the more elitist High Elves at that. I know your mother has taught you enough elven history for you to know how intolerant High Elves are-”</p><p>“They’re giving me a chance, Dad,” Arie said. </p><p>“They aren’t,” Carric said quietly. “They’re giving you a chance to make a fool of yourself.”</p><p>“What if I can win?” Arie said. “What if I beat whoever I’m going to fight? You trained me yourself.”</p><p>“Arie, I trained you to keep your strength up,” Carric said quietly, sitting down. </p><p>“What do you mean?” Arie asked, her voice cracking.</p><p>Carric sighed. “The healers. Iefr and Elwin’s parents. They told your mother and I...they told us that if you didn’t exercise and keep your strength up that your muscles would get worse.”</p><p>Arie swallowed hard. “When did they say that?”</p><p>“When you were eight, right-”</p><p>“Right before my ninth birthday,” Arie finished. “So you didn’t train me because you thought I’d make a good fighter.”</p><p>“I trained you to keep you from losing the mobility you had,” Carric said. “And because I knew the world would knock you down before you even had a chance to get up. You needed that strength, both mentally and physically. But Arie...I never trained you to try out for the Verdant Guard. You’re a good fighter. That isn’t a lie. But good enough to fight in the Guard? Arie...I just don’t know if that’s physically possible for you.”</p><p>Arie sank down into a chair. Her arms were shaking. How had her parents never told her this? </p><p>“We wanted you to believe you could do anything you wanted,” Carric continued. “But you’re an adult now, perhaps not mentally, but physically. It’s time for you to be realistic.”</p><p>“I’m still going,” Arie said quietly. “Tomorrow. I’m going to fight. And I’ll prove you all wrong.”</p><p>Carric sighed. “I suppose I can’t stop you. And your mother and I will be here, whether you win or lose.” </p><p>*</p><p>The following morning Arie was more nervous than she’d ever been in her entire life. Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking and it took her legs longer than normal to cooperate. She took a few deep breaths and willed her body to work. She had to do this and she had to do well. If she didn’t, it would just prove that her parents and Alandra were right. </p><p>“You can still back out of this,” Meriele said quietly after Arie’s shaking hand knocked over a glass of juice. “You don’t need to prove anything.”</p><p>“I’m not backing out,” Arie muttered as she mopped up the juice. </p><p>Meriele said nothing more. She cleared her dishes from the table and walked out the door, setting off for the Whimsical Crate. Arie shakily poured herself another glass of juice and sipped it slowly, until her father emerged from his bedroom. He said nothing while he prepared and ate his breakfast, but once he was done, he turned to look at Arie.</p><p>“You are a good fighter, Arie,” Carric said quietly. “You’ve far surpassed what I thought you were capable of. I don’t want you doubting yourself. That was not my intention. But I need you to realize that we all have limits. And you need to realize what yours are.”</p><p>Arie didn’t know what to believe anymore. She believed Iefr when he said she was a good fighter, but after what her father said last night, she didn’t know whether to believe him. “I do know my limits,” she said. “And I know I can do this.” </p><p>Carric sighed and got up. “Come to the Crate when it’s over,” he said. Without another word, he gave Arie’s shoulder a quick squeeze and left, the door clicking shut behind him. </p><p>Arie walked to Beryl Keep by herself that day, as Elwin had to work. She didn’t mind the long walk. It gave her time to calm down and by the time she presented her ID at the Syngorn gates, her hands had stopped shaking and her legs were working as well as they could. </p><p>Beryl Keep was surprisingly deserted when Arie arrived. She’d been expecting to see other elves from the previous day, but maybe they’d all been given a different time to come demonstrate their fighting skills. </p><p>Arie was also surprised to find Iefr standing at the gate, dressed in his Guard uniform, rather than the soldier who guarded the gate the previous day. </p><p>“Iefr?” Arie said, walking up to him.</p><p>“Arie,” he replied, his expression uncertain.</p><p>“What are you doing here?” she asked. </p><p>“I was given orders to escort you to one of the sparring rooms,” he explained, “but Arie, I don’t like this. This isn’t how recruitment normally works. It’s only you and another elf reporting at ten. Everyone else is coming in at one, like normal. I’ve got a weird feeling about this. I’m not sure you should go through with it.”</p><p>“But you told me I had a shot,” Arie said, squeezing the handles of her crutches to keep her hands from shaking again. “You told me I could do this.”</p><p>“I said maybe,” Iefr said. “But that was before they called you here by yourself. The Verdant Guard doesn’t change their recruitment process. Ever. It’s worked the same since it was formed. You know how much elves like their traditions. This isn’t normal.”</p><p>“I don’t care,” Arie said. “Alandra said I had a chance.”</p><p>“I don’t trust Alandra,” Iefr said. </p><p>“I’m going,” Arie said. “Show me.”</p><p>Iefr sighed. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”</p><p>Arie followed Iefr down the concrete path and through the oak front doors. But rather than going upstairs to the exam room from yesterday, Iefr led Arie down a hallway beyond the staircase. He then led her down a myriad of other hallways until they reached a large stone door. Iefr shoved the door open, then led Arie down a spiral stone staircase. She hated spiral staircases. They were more difficult to navigate than regular staircases. It was lit with torches at five foot increments. </p><p>The stairs ended in a small stone room, also lit with torches along the walls. There were small, rectangular windows near the ceiling, which let in a small amount of sunlight. A door on the wall to Arie’s left was ajar, but not enough for Arie to see what was inside. At the center of the room was a ring outlined in white chalk. Standing outside the ring were Alandra, two of the other recruiters, three elves wearing Guard uniforms with significantly more insignia than Alandra’s, and an elf not wearing a uniform at all. He was tall, burly for an elf, and had a jagged scar on his left cheek. There were three swords in his belt. </p><p>Iefr put his hand on Arie’s shoulder. “Arie, wait,” he whispered. “You see that elf standing next to Alandra? The one with the most insignia?”</p><p>Arie looked. This elf’s expression was unreadable and he stood with his arms on his hips, revealing the extravagance of his uniform. His hair was light brown and perfectly straight and neat. Arie’s hand reached up to her own hair, which had come undone from Conga’s braid and was a tangled mess on her head. </p><p>“That’s the Verdant Lord,” Iefr whispered.</p><p>“What?” Arie said, turning to look at Iefr. “Does he usually-”</p><p>“No,” Iefr interrupted. “That’s why I don’t think-”</p><p>“Private Miralar!” Alandra snapped. “Is there a problem? Or are you going to bring Miss Siannodel into the room?”</p><p>“Sorry, ma’am,” Iefr said, walking forward.</p><p>Arie followed, making sure to skirt the white chalk line. </p><p>The Verdant Lord stepped forward. “Arie Siannodel,” he said. He was about five feet from Arie and he towered over her. He must’ve been at least six feet tall. He stuck out his right hand. “I am Verdant Lord Naestra.”</p><p>Arie shook his hand, letting her right crutch dangle from her arm. “Nice to meet you.”</p><p>The Verdant Lord’s expression did not change. “So you are the one who has my entire recruitment team perplexed. The elf with no magic. I’ve never in all my years heard of such a thing. But the curiosities don’t stop there, do they?” He began to walk in a slow circle around Arie. “Your legs. Curious. Yet you believe you can fight.”</p><p>“I can,” Arie said. “Sir.” </p><p>The Verdant Lord chuckled. “No need to call me ‘sir.’ Private Miralar?”</p><p>Iefr stood up taller. “Yes, Verdant Lord?”</p><p>“You’ve seen her fight and you vouch for her?” he asked.</p><p>“Yes, Lord,” Iefr said. </p><p>“Curious, indeed,” the Verdant Lord said, rubbing his chin. “You’re small for an elf.”</p><p>Arie didn’t respond. The Verdant Lord was hardly the first elf to make that observation. </p><p>“We prefer soldiers at least 5’5”,” he continued. “Men or women. It looks more uniform when we march, you see.”</p><p>Arie could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She gripped her crutches as tightly as she could and watched the Verdant Lord. No matter what he said, his expression did not change. Iefr, on the other hand, looked terrified. </p><p>The Verdant Lord stopped walking and snapped his fingers. One of the other elves wearing a uniform stepped forward. He was shorter than the Verdant Lord, but not by much, and his skin had a similar green huge to Alandra’s. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a slender, pale wand. </p><p>Arie flinched and instinctively stepped back. Her foot caught on a loose stone and she stumbled, but managed to save herself from falling. </p><p>The elf lifted his wand and pointed it at Arie, mumbling something under his breath.</p><p>Arie stumbled back as the spell hit her. She shut her eyes and gasped. She hated the prickly, itchy sensation of spells being performed upon her. It felt unnatural and made her want to jump out of her own skin. </p><p>Iefr must’ve hurried forward as the elf cast the spell because the next thing Arie knew he’d grabbed hold of her shoulders. </p><p>“What are you doing?” Iefr demanded.</p><p>“That is no way to talk to your superiors,” Alandra said. “Watch yourself, Private.”</p><p>The Verdant Lord ignored Iefr and looked to the elf with the wand.</p><p>“I sense no magical energy whatsoever,” he said. “She has no magical signature and her...condition is not magical in nature.”</p><p>Arie wiped her eyes and bit her lip. She could’ve told them that. The dozen healers she’d seen since she was born could’ve told them that. She didn’t need random spells being performed upon her without her consent. </p><p>“I wonder…” the Verdant Lord mused. He bent down and whispered something to the elf with the wand.</p><p>Before Arie could react, the elf once again sent a spell toward her, this one more powerful than the last. Its magic overcame her with enough force to send her stumbling back into Iefr, who caught her as her crutches clattered to the floor. She squeezed her eyes shut as a few tears escaped. The magic coursed through her, like imaginary pins poking her from the inside.</p><p>“Stop!” Iefr shouted as he held onto Arie. </p><p>“That will be enough, Theodmer,” the Verdant Lord said.</p><p>The elf with the wand put his wand away and stepped back in line with the others.</p><p>The spell subsided and Arie took a few deep breaths. Iefr bent down and retrieved her crutches and she stood back up, her hands and legs shaking. </p><p>“You can leave,” Iefr whispered.</p><p>“N-no,” Arie stammered, “not until I fight.”</p><p>“Curious,” the Verdant Lord said.</p><p>Arie wished he’d stop saying that, as if he were observing someone’s oddly behaved pet. </p><p>“You say you can fight?” the Verdant Lord said, gesturing to the white chalk circle. “Prove it. Alandra?”</p><p>Alandra stepped forward into the circle. “Miss Siannodel, you will sparr with Mr. Holamaer.”</p><p>The elf not in uniform stepped forward into the circle. He looked uncertain. “I can’t fight her. She’s...it wouldn’t be fair.”</p><p>“If you wish to join the Verdant Guard you will do just that,” Alandra said. </p><p>Holamaer said nothing else.</p><p>Arie looked from Alandra to Iefr and back again. Alandra looked determined, whereas Iefr looked angry and terrified at the same time. Arie stepped forward into the circle.</p><p>“You will sparr for ten rounds or until one of you yields,” Alandra said from the middle of the circle. “No kill shots. The Verdant Lord will determine the winner at the end of the ten rounds.”</p><p>Arie stood on her side of the circle. She dropped her backpack just outside it and pulled her hand axes out. She stuck one in her waistband and held the other in her right hand, leaning heavily on her left crutch. </p><p>Holamaer brandished a sword in each hand. He looked grim and determined, his face more severe due to the presence of his scar. Arie’s face was also scarred, although not to the degree of his. Her right arm, however, made the scar on his face simply look like a delicate kitten scratch. </p><p>“At the sound of the bell,” Alandra said.</p><p>Arie hadn’t seen a bell in the room, so she assumed it was magic. The thought made her cringe. She tried to push the two spells that had just been cast upon her out of her mind, but they were too fresh. She could still feel the lingering effects of the last one, the jump out of her own skin feeling still there. </p><p>But she had to forget about it. The bell sounded and Holamaer rushed forward. Once he was within striking distance Arie braced herself on her left crutch and swung her hand axe at his sword. The two collided with a crunch. </p><p>Holamaer was so much larger than Arie that the reverberation sent her stumbling backward a few inches, but she remained upright. She barely had time to right herself before Holamaer whipped his sword around and hit her left crutch with it, sending it flying right out of her hand..</p><p>Since Arie was balancing on one crutch, she collapsed to the ground onto her stomach. She looked up and saw her left crutch and hand axe were about ten feet away. Groaning to herself, she pulled herself up with the right crutch. She grabbed the other hand axe out of her waistband and braced herself against Holamaer’s next attack. </p><p>Before going in for his next move, Holamaer kicked Arie’s crutch and hand axe out of the ring, sending them toward Iefr, who looked ready to murder him. His hand was resting on the hilt of his own sword and Arie knew it was taking all of his restraint not to rush into the circle himself.</p><p>Arie glared at Holamaer and hobbled toward him. Walking with only one crutch was difficult, but not impossible. Unfortunately it made her much slower and less balanced. She swung her hand axe toward Holamaer, but he dodged it by leaping in a way Arie would not be capable of even if she did have both her crutches. </p><p>“I told you,” Alandra said to the Verdant Lord. “Impossible. She’d be a liability.”</p><p>Arie’s eyes burned and she rushed back toward Holamaer. She swung her hand axe with as much strength as she could muster, but Holamaer whipped around and swung his sword toward her. </p><p>The hand axe, Arie’s remaining crutch, and Arie herself went flying. Arie gasped at the force and watched as the hand axe sailed through the air and landed with a clatter near the spiral stairs. Her crutch flew past Iefr and landed near the back wall. </p><p>Arie herself landed near the edge of the circle, on her back, her head colliding with the ground with a sickening crunch. She heard shouts and the sound of metal on metal and then the world went black.</p><p>*</p><p>“Arie,” a voice said. “Arie.”</p><p>Arie slowly opened her eyes, only to wish she hadn’t. Her head was pounding. It hurt more than it did after a full moon and all she wanted to do was go back to sleep. But she forced her eyes open and rubbed them, allowing her vision to clear.</p><p>Iefr was in front of her, looking worried. </p><p>“Arie,” he said, relieved. “You’re awake.”</p><p>“Wh-what happened?” Arie mumbled. She looked around, but she was no longer in the room with the white chalk circle. This room was also stone, but smaller. She lay upon some sort of cot, which was the only furniture in the room. </p><p>Iefr wasn’t the only one in the room. Alandra was also there, standing with her arms crossed over her chest in the corner. But the Verdant Lord was gone, as were the other elves and Holamaer. </p><p>Iefr’s lips thinned. “That other elf flung you across the room. You hit your head when you landed.”</p><p>Arie vaguely remembered that, but it was fuzzy. “Where is he?”</p><p>“The other elf? Gone. He left with the Verdant Lord and the others. How are you feeling?”</p><p>“My head hurts,” Arie mumbled. Then, with a sinking feeling in her stomach, she realized it. She’d lost. Holamaer had destroyed her. Not only had she not won, she hadn’t even put up much of a fight. “I lost,” she said, her voice cracking.</p><p>“You did, but it wasn’t a fair fight-”</p><p>“It doesn’t matter,” Arie interrupted, her eyes welling up. “Everyone’s been lying to me my whole life. I can’t fight-”</p><p>“You can,” Iefr said. “I didn’t vouch for you for nothing. It wasn’t right that they had you-”</p><p>“Your opponents won’t always be an even match,” Alandra said, stepping forward. “And you’d better watch what you say, Private.”</p><p>“You were never going to accept her,” Iefr growled. “This was just a show for the Verdant Lord.”</p><p>“None of us forced her to fight,” Alandra said, turning to Arie. “You have spirit, kid. I admire that. But surely you must realize we cannot have you in the Verdant Guard.”</p><p>Arie’s eyes burned. She opened her mouth to say something, but Alandra put her hand on Arie’s shoulder. Arie flinched and slid backward on the cot away from Alandra. </p><p>“Can you leave her alone now?” Iefr asked, glaring at Alandra. “You’ve already told her she’s not getting in. Can’t you see what you did to her?”</p><p>Arie’s hands had started shaking and she couldn’t get them to stop. She wished Alandra would just leave. She even wanted Iefr to leave. She wanted everyone to leave her alone so no one would see her fall apart. They couldn’t see her fall apart. They just couldn’t. She had to be strong. </p><p>Alandra glared hard at Iefr, then turned back to Arie. “I will leave you. I do admire your spirit, but you are not a fighter.”</p><p>Alandra straightened her uniform tunic, turned and strode from the room. She paused at the doorway and looked at Iefr. “See that she gets home and then return. You have until six o’clock tonight.”</p><p>Iefr nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”</p><p>With Alandra’s parting words, Arie couldn’t hold back the flood of tears any longer. They spilled out and she buried her head in her knees, her entire body shaking. </p><p>The cot shifted as Iefr sat down in front of her. “Don’t listen to her. You are a fighter. Not every fighter fights for the Verdant Guard.”</p><p>“Sh-she’s right,” Arie choked. “Holamaer destroyed me. I-I don’t know why I th-thought I could do th-this.”</p><p>“Holamaer played dirty,” Iefr said. “Alandra said to sparr. He didn’t sparr. You’ve never trained for actual combat.”</p><p>“It d-doesn’t matter,” Arie said. </p><p>“It does, because it isn’t right,” Iefr said, standing up. “They don’t require the rest of us to know combat fighting. That’s what basic training is for. It’s more obvious to me now. They never even thought for a second of letting you in. They only continued the process to make a spectacle out of you, and it’s disgusting.”</p><p>Arie could feel her cheeks burning. Iefr was right. Her parents were right. Why didn’t she see it before? Of course they didn’t want her in the Guard. She was too small and too different. </p><p>Arie rubbed the back of her head. There was a large bump already forming. In addition to that, she already felt a large bruise forming on her right hip and right elbow. </p><p>“I didn’t let them cast any healing spells on you,” Iefr said. </p><p>“Th-thanks,” Arie said. “I just want to g-get out of here.”</p><p>“You’re sure you’re ready?” Iefr asked.</p><p>Arie nodded. Tears were still streaming down her face and she was unable to stop them, but she couldn’t stay in Beryl Keep a second longer. </p><p>“Where are my crutches?” Arie asked.</p><p>“Right here,” Iefr said, handing Arie the crutches.</p><p>Arie took them and stood up shakily. Her entire body felt like jelly, like it had after climbing the stairs to the Government Center. Only this time, she was also dizzy. She took a step and stumbled forward, the entire room spinning in front of her.</p><p>Iefr caught her and kept hold of her arm even after she steadied herself. “I think I should take you to see my parents. I know you hate magic, but you need a healing spell.”</p><p>“I never told you I hate magic,” Arie said as they began to walk slowly from the room.</p><p>“It was a bit obvious...earlier,” Iefr said. “Is it because you can’t do magic?”</p><p>Arie didn’t answer until they reached the spiral staircase. “That’s part of it. When I was little my parents dragged me to every healer in Tal’Dorei and let them perform all sorts of spells on me to try and fix my legs and none of them worked. I just got sick of it. And I don’t like the feeling of spells.”</p><p>“What do you mean?” Iefr asked as he helped her up the stairs.</p><p>“When spells hit me it feels like tons of little tiny pins poking me from the inside. It doesn’t hurt, exactly...it’s just weird. Like I want to crawl out of my skin.”</p><p>“That’s...weird,” Iefr said. “that’s not supposed to happen.” </p><p>“I know.”</p><p>“Does it happen with all spells, or just the ones that don’t work?”</p><p>“All of them,” Arie said. “Some are worse than others. That second one they did on me earlier...that was bad.”</p><p>Iefr’s hand tightened around Arie’s arm. </p><p>“Ouch,” Arie said. </p><p>“Sorry,” Iefr said, loosening his grip. “I’m just so pissed off they did that.”</p><p>“Do you know what spell it was?” Arie asked.</p><p>“No,” Iefr answered. “I didn’t hear the incantation.”</p><p>Arie wiped her eyes as they reached the top of the staircase. The spell may have subsided, but the reminder that she had no idea what spell it was brought the feeling of wanting to crawl out of her skin back in full force.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. The Spell</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“No more healers,” Meriele said after the unsuccessful appointment with the tiefling healer. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>“No more healers,” Carric agreed. “She is who she is and we’ll love her just the same.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“I just hope the rest of the world will, too,” Meriele said. <i></i></i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Syngorn looked different as Arie walked with Iefr away from Beryl Keep and toward his house. She’d never before noticed just how perfect everything was. The streets were clean. The lawns perfectly mown. The trees and bushes trimmed. Not a leaf or blade of grass out of place. The buildings were spotless. Every pub, house, and storefront looked pristine. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The Syngornian citizens were perfect. Every elf dressed in clothes so new they hardly looked worn. They walked in unison, gazing at the perfect storefronts, pausing in front of the perfect fountains, sitting and having coffee at one of the many perfect coffee shops. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Even Iefr blended seamlessly, wearing his Verdant Guard uniform. The only one out of place was Arie, with her wild hair, now stained and torn tunic, and crutches. Her backpack of weapons, which Iefr was carrying over one shoulder for her, was patched and frayed. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>It was so glaringly obvious now. Why hadn’t she ever noticed before? Arie didn’t fit in in Syngorn. And she never would.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The walk to Iefr and Elwin’s house was long, but not as long as the walk to the Whimsical Crate would’ve been. The Miralars lived in a neighborhood of large, stately houses situated adjacent to the Tarn Ward. The inhabitants of this neighborhood were mostly accomplished wizards, wealthy merchants, and government officials. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie visited the Miralars once a year at her parents’ insistence. Each appointment was the same. Whichever healer she saw would ask her how she had been and she would reply with ‘fine,’ they’d perform a few spells, and announce that while Arie’s legs weren’t any better, they weren’t any worse either. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The Miralar house was just as pristine as the rest of the houses in the neighborhood. It was painted a dark gray with green trim. Perfectly landscaped hedges surrounded the property, giving the yard a small amount of privacy. An iron gate split the hedge down the center. Iefr opened the gate and held it for Arie. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>To the left was the Miralars’ house and to the right was their healer office. Arie followed Iefr, the pain in her hip and head getting steadily worse with each step. Iefr opened the door to the office and ushered Arie inside to the small waiting room.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The waiting room hadn’t changed since Arie was last there a few months ago. Its chairs, large, squashy green armchairs, were the same ones that had been there since before Arie was born. An oak coffee table sat in the middle of the room with a few books and magazines atop it. One lone elf sat in one of the chairs, but she didn’t even look up when Arie and Iefr entered. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>There was no receptionist. Instead, everyone rang a large bell just inside the door to alert the Miralars that they were there. Iefr, however, did not ring the bell. Instead, he sat Arie down in a chair and headed straight through the door that led to the exam rooms. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Less than ten seconds later he was back, followed by both his parents. Iefr and Elwin both looked very much like their father. Their mother, however, had a very large amount of bright red hair, piercing blue eyes, and a jaw so angular you could almost carve marble with it. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Arie!” Tanelia exclaimed, her eyes widening as she hurried over to Arie. “What on earth happened?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Hey!” the other elf shouted. “I was here first.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“By all means find another healer if you don’t want to wait,” Faelar said, gesturing to the door.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The elf muttered something under her breath, but didn’t get up.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Come on, dear,” Tanelia said to Arie as she helped her out of the chair. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie allowed Tanelia to guide her through the door and into the larger of the two exam rooms. Faelar and Iefr followed. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Once inside the exam room Tanelia helped Arie onto the table, then took her hands in hers and looked at her. “Arie,” she said quietly. “Can you tell me what happened?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie’s head gave a particularly painful throb and she burst into tears all over again. Tanelia squeezed her hands, then looked over at Iefr.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“It was the Guard, Mom,” Iefr said angrily. “They made her think she had a chance at joining and the Verdant Lord himself made her fight, and it wasn’t a fair fight. The other elf sent her flying across the room. Stone floors.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Tanelia gasped. “And you let her do it, Iefr?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“It wasn’t h-his fault,” Arie choked. “He told me not to.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Faeler opened a cabinet and pulled out a potion bottle. He poured a glass and handed it to Arie. “Healing potion,” he said.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie nodded and swallowed it all at once. The effect was immediate. The throbbing in her head and hip lessened, although it was still there.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“That wasn’t all, either,” Iefr went on, looking to Arie. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“You tell them,” Arie mumbled. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“The Verdant Lord brought his head wizard, who performed some sort of spell on her-”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“What spell?” Faelar asked sharply, his eyes hardening.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I don’t know,” Iefr said. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I’d like to find out,” Faelar said, stepping toward Arie. “There is a spell I can perform to find out the last spell performed on you, Arie, if you are okay with that.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie nodded. “Go ahead.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie braced herself for the spell. It washed over her and she felt itchy and uncomfortable, similarly to the first spell the Verdant Guard’s wizard had performed on her. The sensation was only there for a few seconds before it was gone.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Faelar closed his eyes for a brief second, then opened them again. His expression was stony, his eyes filled with more anger than before.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“What was it, Faelar?” Tanelia asked.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Nothing I have ever encountered before,” Faelar said quietly, “so I am unable to identify it. But I’d put money on it being a spell that’s being developed by the Verdant Guard itself. Something extremely controversial, likely with side effects-”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“What side effects?” Iefr asked.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Arie, what was the spell like?” Faelar asked. “What effect did it have on you? Did it seem to do anything?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“The same effect most spells have,” Arie answered. “The icy cold feeling, then the pins, and then it was gone. It took a lot longer than usual for it to be gone, though. But I don’t think it did anything.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Faelar nodded. “In that case I will assume it did not. And we can all be thankful for that.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“But why did they perform it on Arie?” Iefr asked.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“That I do not know, but I think it’s safe to assume the Verdant Lord saw an opportunity when Arie applied and took it upon himself to test something on her,” Faelar said.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie wanted the floor to open up and swallow her. The thought of magic, any magic, being performed upon her made her incredibly uncomfortable, but unknown, experimental magic? She didn’t even know how to react to that. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Iefr and his parents continued discussing the spell, their conversation turning to the theory and intricate details of magic that Arie did not understand. She squeezed her eyes shut once more and curled up on the bed, tuning out the conversation until it was mere background noise. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie kept replaying the fight over and over in her head. She’d done everything her father had trained her to do, but the other elf was just stronger. Maybe everyone was right, and she wasn’t cut out for this. But if she couldn’t fight and she couldn’t do magic and she couldn’t carve, what could she do? </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Tanelia gently shook her and she opened her eyes. Tanelia was holding out another healing potion. Arie took it and swallowed it in one gulp, then closed her eyes again. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Iefr, perhaps you should go to the Whimsical Crate,” Tanelia said quietly. “Bring Meriele and Carric back here.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“No,” Arie mumbled. “I’m fine.” She’d never been less fine in her life, but Arie did not want to hear ‘I told you so’ from her parents.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Go,” Tanelia said. “Faelar, go take care of that woman in the waiting room and put up the ‘closed’ sign.” </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie heard the door open and two people leave. The door shut once more. Arie heard shuffling, then felt a blanket cover her.  </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I don’t care what the Verdant Guard says,” Tanelia said quietly as she patted the blanket, “you, my dear, are the strongest person I know.” </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>*</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie didn’t know how much time passed before the door opened again. The pain in her head and her hip had lessened with the second potion, but it was still there. She wanted nothing more than to curl up in her own bed, but also did not want to get up.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>There was more shuffling as more people entered the room. Arie kept her eyes shut until she felt a hand on her back, then blinked a few times and saw her mom kneeling next to the bed, her hair disheveled as if she’d run from the Whimsical Crate.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Arie,” she said. “Are you all right? Is she all right?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“She’s going to be fine,” Faelar said, “but I’d like to talk to you two.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Faelar opened the door and Arie’s parents went out into the hallway. Faelar and Tanelia followed, closing the door behind them. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>It was then that Arie noticed who else had come in. Elwin stood next to Iefr, paler than Arie had ever seen him before. Iefr shoved him forward. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Arie,” he said quietly, walking toward the bed. “You...you’re okay?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I couldn’t do it,” Arie whispered. “I couldn’t get in.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Elwin sat down in the chair next to the bed. He reached out and began tentatively ruffling Arie’s hair. “Iefr told me what happened. This wasn’t your fault.” </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The door opened again and Elwin snatched his hand away. Arie closed her eyes, not wanting to talk to anyone. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“What are you going to do about this?” Carric said. “You’re on the Council now. Surely you can do something?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I will certainly try,” Faelar said. “But Carric, I can’t go storming into the first meeting with these accusations. They’ll throw me off.” </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Luring innocent civilians into Beryl Keep under false pretenses and testing experimental magic on them!” Carric shouted. “This is an outrage! I have half a mind to go down there myself and-”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Carric, that would be stupid,” Faelar interrupted. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“They could’ve killed her!” Carric shouted. “She doesn’t react to magic the way the rest of us do! And they would’ve hushed it up, just like they hushed up what the previous Verdant Lord did. There was another protest today.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I have half a mind to quit,” Iefr announced.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“You will do no such thing,” Faelar snapped. “That would look entirely too suspicious and could compromise my seat on the Council. No, Iefr, you will return to Beryl Keep before your six o’clock deadline and you will continue training as if nothing happened-”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“But-”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“As if nothing happened,” Faelar repeated. “And if you hear anything, anything at all that seems even the slightest bit related to what happened to Arie, you request an hour leave and you come right here and tell me.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Yes, Father,” Iefr said quietly. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Arie is not to go anywhere near Beryl Keep,” Faelar went on. “I guarantee the Verdant Lord can discover any of our whereabouts at any time, whenever he likes, but let’s not make it too easy for him.” </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>That wouldn’t be a problem, Arie thought. She never wanted to show her face at Beryl Keep again. But just thinking about that brought more tears to her eyes and she squeezed them shut even harder. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Someone put their hand on Arie’s back and started rubbing it. “She’s still shaking,” Meriele said. “You don’t think that’s because of that spell, do you?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie heard the cabinet open again.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“It’s a possibility,” Tanelia said. “But I think it’s more likely a result of the shock and exhaustion of everything she’s been through today. She should take a dose of calming potion.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Arie opened her eyes long enough to cough down the goblet of calming potion Tanelia presented her. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“What do we do?” Carric asked. “What can we do?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Without anymore evidence, not much,” Faelar said quietly. “If we can gather more evidence, I can bring it up with the Council.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“That could take months, or years!” Carric said.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“It could. But the most important thing right now is that Arie is fine, or will be anyway. And to keep her away from the Verdant Lord. Today will have only piqued his interest, and if anything, he will be more likely to try and perform more spells on her.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>They didn’t need to worry about that, Arie thought. She was never showing her face near Beryl Keep again.</i>
  </i>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Adventuring</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“See? You’re getting stronger,” Carric said after Arie lobbed the head off a dummy with her sword. “You couldn’t do that a week ago.” </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Arie smiled as the dummy’s head rolled away from her on the ground, adrenaline coursing through her. She loved the rush she felt when fighting. It made her feel like she could do anything.</i>
</p><p>“Here,” Conga said, sliding a cup of coffee across the bar toward Arie. “Drink.”</p><p>Arie took the cup and held it in her hands, staring down into its inky black surface. She lifted the cup and swallowed a third of it in one sip. </p><p>It had been three days since Arie’s fight at Beryl Keep and up until tonight, she’d spent the time curled up in bed, under the covers, refusing to talk to anyone. Her parents brought food and begged for more details about what happened, but she refused. What good would it do? Unless they had some sort of magic that could turn back time, it was out of their control. Arie had humiliated herself in front of the Verdant Lord and they hadn’t wanted her in the Guard anyway. All they wanted was to test spells on her, because she was different. </p><p>Earlier that day Meriele had summoned Tanelia, worried that Arie still hadn’t gotten out of bed or spoken. Tanelia assured her that Arie was fine, physically, which was true. The bruises were already fading and Arie’s headaches had subsided. But there was nothing that would remove the memories of what happened, and Arie kept replaying it over and over in her head. </p><p>“You want to talk about it?” Conga asked.</p><p>Arie shook her head. </p><p>Conga nodded and poured a pint for the man sitting to Arie’s right. She set it down and looked back at Arie.</p><p>“If it’s worth anything, I think you’re better off,” she said. “Remember what I said about not letting them crush your spirit.”</p><p>Arie took another sip of coffee.</p><p>“And if they did, I’ll kill the lot of them,” Conga muttered. </p><p>Arie smirked. The idea of Conga taking on the entire Verdant Guard was hilarious.</p><p>“There’s the Arie Siannodel I know,” Conga said. </p><p>The door to the tavern opened and Elwin walked in, scanning the room as he did so. His eyes fell upon Arie and he made a beeline for the bar. </p><p>“There you are,” he said, sitting down next to her. “I went to your house, but you weren’t there.”</p><p>Arie said nothing.</p><p>“She’s been here for hours,” Conga said. “Won’t talk to me, but I got a smile out of her.”</p><p>“Come on,” Elwin said. “Let’s go for a walk.”</p><p>Arie allowed Elwin to pull her off the stool. He handed her her crutches and the two of them left the tavern, Conga watching as they went. </p><p>Elwin led Arie down the cobblestone street toward the lake. They walked slowly, Elwin’s hands shoved into his pockets. Arie glanced at them and wondered for half a second whether he wanted to hold her hand, but she couldn’t really do that. As they walked, Arie watched the other elves, noticing which ones averted their gazes and which ones outright stared. </p><p>They reached the lake and Elwin sat down on a bench. Arie sat down next to him. </p><p>“Your worth isn’t based on whether the Verdant Guard wants you,” Elwin said quietly. “You’re better than they are.”</p><p>Arie bit her lip and stared out at the lake. She knew what Elwin said was true. But at the same time she couldn’t ignore the fact that this was one more thing she couldn’t do. </p><p>“There’s nothing here for me, Elwin,” Arie said quietly. “In Syngorn, I mean.”</p><p>“Sure there is,” Elwin said. </p><p>“Then what?” Arie asked. “There’s not much you can do in Syngorn without magic. Or hands that work right.”</p><p>Elwin said nothing, which only proved Arie’s point.</p><p>“Do you remember that band of adventurers who exposed the old Verdant Lord?” Arie asked.</p><p>“Yeah,” Elwin said.</p><p>Arie said nothing for a few minutes, then turned to look at Elwin. “I want to do that.”</p><p>“What do you mean?” </p><p>“I mean, I want to go on adventures. I can’t stay here in Syngorn, not when there’s nothing for me here.”</p><p>“But your parents...and...me,” Elwin said. </p><p>“My parents treat me like I’m five, and I think they always will,” Arie said. “And you...you could come with me.”</p><p>Elwin’s eyes widened. “I...I can’t. I have a job here. I can’t just abandon it and go off on adventures.”</p><p>Arie turned back to the lake and took a few deep breaths. “I...I can’t stay here for you, Elwin.”</p><p>“You’re serious about this, aren’t you,” Elwin said, taking Arie’s left hand in his right. He squeezed it. </p><p>Arie turned back to him. “I...I think I am.”</p><p>“But where will you go?” Elwin asked.</p><p>“I...I don’t know. Wherever I can.”</p><p>Elwin squeezed her hand again. The two of them sat quietly watching the lake. Arie hated the idea of leaving Elwin, but she hated the idea of staying in Syngorn even more. </p><p>“When” Elwin asked a few minutes later.</p><p>“After the next full moon, I think,” Arie said. </p><p>Elwin nodded. </p><p>Arie didn’t know how long they sat together, staring at the lake, but after what felt like forever, she leaned her head on Elwin’s shoulder. He hadn’t told her not to go. And more importantly, he hadn’t told her she couldn’t go. That would make it even harder to leave. But she had to. </p><p>*</p><p>In the weeks before the next full moon, Arie agonized over whether to tell her parents about her plans to leave. Part of her knew they deserved to know and deserved time to say goodbye, but the other part of her knew they would attempt to stop her and wanted to write a letter and leave while they were at the Whimsical Crate. </p><p>Leaving Syngorn in search of adventure was not an unusual event for elves Arie’s age. About half of all elves born in Syngorn left the city for a few hundred years of exploration and adventure in other parts of Tal’dorei. Many returned when their wanderlust died down, but others settled down elsewhere, in other cities or even in the many forests. Arie’s own parents spent a few hundred years exploring Tal’dorei before returning to Syngorn and opening the Whimsical Crate. Most elven parents expected it and many even looked forward to it, eager to get their children out of the house. </p><p>But Arie, of course, was not like most elves. Most elves were equipped with magic and legs that cooperated properly with their brains to assist them on said adventures. If Arie even brought up the idea of leaving Syngorn, she knew her parents would mention this. It would be the same argument about the Verdant Guard all over again, and even though Carric and Meriele had not come out and said ‘I told you so’ about that, Arie knew they were thinking it. </p><p>There was someone else Arie had to tell, however, and she didn’t get the chance until two days before the full moon. Iefr. Elwin had informed her that Iefr had a weekend of leave so she sent him another letter that simply had a time, date, and the Demon and Hound written on it in huge letters. </p><p>Iefr was already there when Arie arrived. He’d claimed their usual back booth and had already ordered Arie a pint. Elwin wasn’t with him because he was at the Whimsical Crate. </p><p>“Arie,” he said when she slid into the booth opposite him. “How are you? Elwin said you’re all better?”</p><p>Arie nodded. “I am.” The last lingering physical effects of Arie’s bout with the Verdant Lord had dissipated a week after it happened. However, anytime she saw anyone about to do magic, Arie’s heart sped up and depending on what the magic was or how close it was to her, she’d flinch when it happened. Tanelia explained something about stress and trauma and how that would take longer to fade than physical effects, but Arie hadn’t understood it. </p><p>“Good,” Iefr said, taking a sip of his pint.</p><p>“Have you...heard anything? From the Verdant Lord?” Arie asked, her heart pounding in her chest. </p><p>“About the experimental spells? No. But I’m not exactly high up on the Verdant Lord’s list of trusted individuals.”</p><p>Arie nodded and rubbed her palms on the outside of her pint glass. “I have to tell you something.”</p><p>Iefr furrowed his brow. “Is it about Elwin? He seemed sad this weekend. It’s okay if you don’t like him that way-”</p><p>“It’s not about Elwin,” Arie interrupted. “It’s about me. I...I’m leaving Syngorn.”</p><p>Iefr’s eyes widened. “Because of what happened?”</p><p>“Sort of,” Arie said. “Sort of not. There’s just nothing for me here. I don’t want to spend my whole life living with my parents. I want to do something.”</p><p>Iefr nodded. “I get that. Hell, part of me is jealous.”</p><p>“You could come with me,” Arie offered.</p><p>“I wish. But my dad is right. I can’t quit the Guard now. He needs someone on the inside if we’re going to figure out what’s going on with this spell. Where will you go?”</p><p>“I don’t know. I just want to find...something.”</p><p>“And you’re sure...that you can do it? On your own, I mean? I’m not saying you can’t-”</p><p>“I know,” Arie interrupted. “And I think I can, yeah. I at least want to try.”</p><p>“I’ll miss you. And I know Elwin will too. Write us, when you can.”</p><p>“I will,” Arie said. </p><p>“When are you leaving?”</p><p>“In a few days, after I figure out how to tell my parents,” Arie said. “I don’t know whether to tell them or just leave them a letter. I feel like I have to tell them since they’ve done so much for me. I mean, my dad’s the whole reason I can fight at all. And Mom...she taught me everything else and always had the best comebacks for people who made comments about me.”</p><p>“You should do it in person,” Iefr said. “But you can write them a letter and put everything you want to say in that, so you won’t just be yelling at each other. You can dictate it to me if you want.”</p><p>Arie shook her head. “No, I think for this I need to do it myself.” It wouldn’t matter if it wasn’t legible. Her parents had been deciphering her handwriting for over a decade. </p><p>Iefr swallowed the last of his beer. “I’ve got something to tell you, too.”</p><p>“What?” Arie asked. She took a sip of her own beer. </p><p>“I got reassigned,” he said. “I’m going to Talgarth Hold Outpost next week.”</p><p>Arie’s eyes widened. The Verdant Guard operated a number of outposts throughout Tal’Dorei, but Arie wasn’t sure how they decided which soldiers went where. “What for? I mean, what are you going to do there?”</p><p>“Not sure. I guess I’ll find out when I get there,” Iefr said.</p><p>“Where is it?” Arie asked.</p><p>“Just outside Emon.”</p><p>“How long will you be there?” </p><p>“I don’t know,” Iefr said. “Until I get reassigned, I guess. They could send me to another outpost or out on a mission or back here, I suppose. That’s life in the Guard.” He winced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to-”</p><p>“It’s okay,” Arie said. “You can still talk about the Guard.”</p><p>“Okay,” Iefr said. He looked around the pub. “I should get going.” </p><p>Arie nodded. “Then I guess...this is goodbye.”</p><p>“No,” Iefr said. “We’ll see each other again. You’ll have to come back to visit.”</p><p>Arie smiled as she slid out of the booth and stood up. “I suppose.”</p><p>Iefr got up and wrapped her in a hug so tight he lifted her right off the ground, crutches and all. “I’m going to miss you, Arie.”</p><p>“I’ll miss you, too,” Arie said. “I’ll write.”</p><p>“You better,” Iefr said as he set her down. “I hope you find whatever it is you’re looking for.”</p><p>“Me, too,” Arie said quietly. She only wished she knew what she was looking for. “And good luck, at Talgarth Hold.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. The Future</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“What will the future be like?” Meriele asked as she and Carric watched ten-year-old Arie shooting arrows at a target fifty feet away. She missed some, but most were perfect hits.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“For Arie?” Carric replied. “I don’t know. I think it’s best if we just focus on the present.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Meriele sighed. “That’s good for now, but the future will be here before we know it. And she’s not going to be content to just stay here with us.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“I know,” Carric said quietly. “And that terrifies me.”</i>
</p><p>After the next full moon there were nine doses of Wolfsbane Potion left in the medicine cabinet, each sealed in an individual unbreakable glass vial. That meant Arie had nine months to make 1,000 gold in order to buy more. It also meant that in nine months Arie would have to be in a city large enough to have an apothecary that could make Wolfsbane Potion, and most importantly, make it without asking questions Arie did not want to answer. It was either that or come back to Syngorn in nine months...or transform without Wolfsbane. </p><p>Arie shuddered at the thought, as she loaded the nine doses into her backpack. She had transformed once without Wolfsbane. It was a few months later after she was bitten, when a healer in Eamon wondered if the potion was interacting with the spells he was trying and causing them not to work. </p><p>It was not something Arie wanted to repeat. She hated the feeling of losing control and knowing that she could not possibly gain that control back until she transformed back into herself. </p><p>Arie also grabbed what was left of the calming potion tea she took during the days leading up to the full moon. She shoved that in the front pocket of her backpack. </p><p>Her backpack was stuffed to the brim with everything Arie thought she might need. Food, changes of clothes, a waterskin, rope, her potions, but mostly it was filled with weapons. She knew there would be a chance of having to battle for her life and it didn’t scare her. In fact, she would welcome it. She wanted nothing more than to beat up someone who underestimated her. </p><p>Arie was ready. Or as ready as she’d ever be.</p><p>The previous night, after spending the day recovering from the full moon, Arie had sequestered herself in her bedroom to write a letter to her parents. It wasn’t long, but it had taken her much of the night, since she burned a few versions before settling on the right one. </p><p>Arie patted the pocket in her tunic, where she’d stuffed the letter. She slung her backpack onto her back, pitching forward slightly at the weight. She steadied herself and figured she’d get used to the weight soon enough.</p><p>It’s not goodbye, she thought as she stood in the kitchen, her eyes gazing over the house she’d grown up in. She would be back, she just didn’t know when. </p><p>Arie started for the door, but stopped, her eyes falling upon the white and blue ceramic urn sitting on the counter. Without thinking, she walked to the counter, set her right crutch up against it, and opened the urn. Inside was the money her parents kept on hand. They deposited everything they made into their bank account, but kept a few hundred gold on hand for spending. It wasn’t much, certainly not enough for Wolfsbane but it would buy her room and board for a while. </p><p>She reached in and grabbed the handful of gold, not bothering to count it, and shoved it into her pocket. Her parents wouldn’t be mad about that. They’d be mad about her running away, but not about taking money to live on while running away. </p><p>With one last look at the house she grew up in, and one more deep breath, Arie opened the door and set off. </p><p>It was slow going at first, until she got the rhythm of hiking with a full backpack. She normally only carried a few weapons with her, not all of them. But this was potentially going to be a long journey and she didn’t know which weapons she would need. Better to err on the side of caution and take them all. She didn’t know who or what she’d run into. </p><p>The guard at the Syngorn gate gave her a weird look and eyed the sword sticking out of her bag, the quiver of arrows, and the longbow slung across her chest, but didn’t say anything as he scanned her ID and let her in. She nodded at him and set off for the Whimsical Crate.</p><p>Arie could’ve told her parents she was leaving earlier, while they were all still at home. But she knew if she announced it at the Whimsical Crate they would be somewhat calmer. They wouldn’t want to make a scene in front of any of the other elves. </p><p>As she walked through Syngorn, Arie saw Beryl Keep at a distance. Just seeing its looming facade from a hundred feet away made her break out in a cold sweat. She wondered if that had something to do with the trauma Tanelia had mentioned. She ducked down an alley to get away faster and took a few deep breaths. Once she was a few streets away, her heart returned to its usual speed and she stopped sweating. </p><p>Arie took the long way to the Whimsical Crate so she could stop by the Demon and Hound to say goodbye to Conga. She’d told Conga about her plan the same night she’d told Iefr and she’d been nothing but supportive.</p><p>In front of the Demon and Hound, Arie opened the door just in time to see a half-elf in tattered clothing send a spell toward a human in even shabbier clothing who was sitting at the bar. Arie flinched and dodged out of the way as the human jumped off his stool and made a beeline for the door. </p><p>“No magic in here!” Conga shouted, jumping out from behind the bar. “You, out!” </p><p>The half-elf muttered something under his breath and followed the human out into the street. </p><p>Arie righted herself and walked over to Conga, her heart pounding again. Conga’s face softened when she laid eyes on Arie.</p><p>“Arie,” she said quietly. “You’re leaving now?”</p><p>Arie nodded. “Yeah, after I go tell my parents. Assuming they don’t lock me in the shop with some sort of magic.”</p><p>“They love you,” Conga said, putting her hands on Arie’s cheeks. “They’ll let you go.” </p><p>That’s what Arie was counting on. </p><p>“It’s not forever,” Conga said. “I have something for you to take with you.” She scurried back behind the bar and came back with a package wrapped in paper. “Pasties. They’ll stay good for a few days.” She motioned for Arie to turn around and shoved them into her backpack, nestled amongst the weapons.</p><p>“Thanks,” Arie said, her voice cracking. “I’ll miss you.”</p><p>“I’ll miss you, too. But we will meet again. You’ll have to come back and tell me about all your grand adventures,” Conga said. </p><p>Arie smiled. “I will.”</p><p>Conga wrapped Arie into a tight hug, crutches and all. “Good luck, Arie Siannodel. You’re going to do great things. I’d say don’t let anyone tell you you can’t, but you already live by that.”</p><p>Arie nodded, hugging Conga back. </p><p>Conga let go. “And I’ll say it again because I can’t say it enough, don’t let anyone crush your spirit.” </p><p>*</p><p>Arie stood in front of the Whimsical Crate for nearly ten minutes working up the nerve to go inside. She waited so long three different people asked her if she needed help. When she finally decided to go in, a fourth person stopped her.</p><p>“They don’t open until the sun sets,” the tall elf said, her eyebrows raised in a way that said, ‘you should know that.’</p><p>“I know,” Arie said as she continued toward the shop. She opened the door and walked in, not looking back to see the other elf’s reaction.</p><p>Both of Arie’s parents, and Elwin, were at their work benches. Carric and Elwin were carving. Meriele was casting magic into a carving. All three of them looked up as Arie walked in. Elwin’s eyes widened. He knew what was about to happen.</p><p>“Arie,” Carric said, looking at her but not getting up from his seat. “Everything okay?”</p><p>Arie nodded as she set her backpack down on the floor. It landed with a loud ‘thunk.’ She set the long bow down next to it. </p><p>“Why do you have all of your stuff with you?” Carric asked, furrowing his brow.</p><p>“I...I have something to tell you,” Arie said quietly, walking toward the workspace. </p><p>Both Carric and Meriele got up from their seats and stared at Arie. </p><p>“I-” Arie began.</p><p>“No,” Meriele interrupted, shaking her head. “I know where this is going and the answer is no.” </p><p>“But I didn’t-” Arie’s heart was pounding again, like it did when she walked past Beryl Keep. </p><p>“I know, Arie,” Meriele said. “You’ve got all of your weapons packed in that bag, you’ve been quiet for weeks, like you’ve been hiding something. You think you can go off on a grand adventure, but you can’t.”</p><p>Arie’s jaw dropped. How? She’d been so quiet about it. She hadn’t said a word at home and the only people who knew were Iefr, Elwin, and Conga.</p><p>“I can and I am,” Arie insisted. “And you’re not going to stop me.”</p><p>“Let’s go to the back room,” Carric said, opening the door and gesturing inside, casting a glance at Elwin.</p><p>Arie followed her parents into the back room and her dad shut the door. He leaned against it and looked at Arie. Meriele paced back and forth in between him and Arie.</p><p>“This is ridiculous, Arie,” Meriele said. “I understand that you’re disappointed about the Verdant Guard-”</p><p>“I’m not just disappointed, Mom,” Arie said. “Can’t you see that?”</p><p>“Oh, believe me, I do,” Meriele said. “You’re traumatized. Tanelia and I spoke about it at great length. The last thing you need right now is to run away-”</p><p>“I’m not running away,” Arie said, her voice cracking. “I’m doing what dozens, hundreds, of other elves do, what you two did!”</p><p>“Arie, you’re not-”</p><p>“Like other elves?” Arie finished for her. Her hands had started shaking and she gripped her crutches even harder to try and make them stop. “I wish you’d stop saying that.”</p><p>“It’s true, Arie,” Carric said quietly. “Tal’dorei can be a dangerous place and you’ll be at a significant disadvantage. If you want to go and explore, your mother or I can take a leave of absence from the shop and go with you-”</p><p>“No,” Arie said. “That’s the whole point. I need to go on my own.”</p><p> </p><p>Meriele stopped pacing and stared at Arie. Her face was etched with worry and Arie hated that she’d put it there. </p><p>“Arie,” she said, “I don’t know how to make this any clearer. And maybe it is our fault for raising you to believe you can literally do anything everyone else can, which seemed the best thing when you were five, but maybe that’s not the case anymore. You cannot go traipsing through the woods by yourself. What if you tripped over something and broke an ankle? What if you ran into a group of ravagers? What if your crutches broke or were stolen while you slept? You’d be stuck. You can’t walk without them. You can barely stand.”</p><p>Arie felt her eyes well up and she bit her lip to keep the tears from falling. She would not cry while doing this. She turned away from her mom and looked at her dad, whose expression was unreadable.</p><p>“She isn’t wrong, Arie,” he said quietly. </p><p>“It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Arie said. She hadn’t thought of someone stealing her crutches while she slept, but she couldn’t live her life in fear. </p><p>“Arie, we will give you anything. Anything,” Meriele said quietly. “Whatever you need to keep you happy in Syngorn, name it and it’s yours.”</p><p>Arie said nothing for a full minute. “That’s the thing,” she said, a few stray tears escaping, “you can’t. You can’t give me what I need. There’s no amount of gold in the world that can do that.”</p><p>“Then what?” Meriele asked. “What are you looking for?”</p><p>“Can’t you see?” Arie said, her voice cracking. “I don’t fit in here. You know what Syngorn is like, what everyone here is like, and I will never, ever fit the Syngorn standard. I will always be that elf with crutches. Or that elf who can’t do magic. Or the elf with lycanthropy.”</p><p>“Arie-” Carric began.</p><p>“Don’t deny it,” Arie said. “You tried to hide it from me for years and when I was a kid that worked, but I’m not a kid anymore-”</p><p>“You’re only 22,” Meriele said. “You are still a child.”</p><p>“Not legally,” Arie said. “And all the other elves my age are in school or in apprenticeships or working somewhere. Or, adventuring. I can’t go to school because I can’t do magic. I can’t do any apprenticeships because I can’t do magic and my hands don’t work right. And there are a very limited number of jobs I could actually do and none of them are anything I want to do. So what does that leave? Adventuring.”</p><p>“Arie,” Meriele said. She stopped pacing and sat down in one of the squashy armchairs. She rubbed her face and looked at Arie.</p><p>“Name one,” Arie said, her voice barely more than a whisper. “Name one job I could do here that I would actually enjoy and I’ll stay.”</p><p>Her parents looked at each other and Arie could see them desperately trying to think of something. But like Elwin, Arie knew they wouldn’t come up with anything. </p><p>“Arie,” Meriele said again, “what happened at the Verdant Guard was awful, but running away is not the solution-”</p><p>“I’m not running away!” Arie interrupted. “You’re changing the subject because you can’t do it. You can’t name one thing I can do here.”</p><p>“Arie, your mother is right,” Carric said. “You aren’t dealing with what happened at the Verdant Guard in a healthy-”</p><p>“Carric,” Meriele interrupted, turning to her husband. “That’s not the best way to put it.”</p><p>Carric groaned and ran his hand through his hair. “Maybe not. But the point is, running away isn’t going to change what happened. It’s going to be there until you process it. Tanelia explained it better.”</p><p>“You need to stay here and process, Arie,” Meriele said quietly. “We can help you do that. So can Tanelia. Running away from everyone who loves you will not help.”</p><p>Arie squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath, then opened her eyes and looked at her parents. They both looked tired, in a way Arie had never seen before. But she couldn’t let that affect her. She knew she was doing what she needed to do. Her parents would not -could not- understand what she was going through. No one could, because there wasn’t a single other elf who couldn’t do magic and whose legs wouldn’t work right. </p><p>Arie reached a shaking hand into her tunic pocket and pulled out the crumpled letter she wrote to her parents. She held it out to her mom. </p><p>“I’m not asking permission,” Arie said quietly. “I just want to say goodbye...for now.”</p><p>Meriele got up and took the letter. She started to uncrumple it, but Arie grabbed her wrist. </p><p>“Don’t read it yet. Wait until I leave,” she said.</p><p>“I just don’t see how this is feasible,” Carric said. “Arie, you can barely tie your shoes. How are you going to manage in the forest?”</p><p>“You’ve said it yourself that I’m an excellent fighter,” Arie said, her voice cracking, “so unless you’ve been lying to me all these years, I’ll be fine. And my boots have buckles. No laces.”</p><p>“I wasn’t...I wasn’t lying,” Carric said, sighing. </p><p>“Parents will always worry,” Meriele said. “But if you’re determined to do this-”</p><p>“I am,” Arie insisted.</p><p>“Then I suppose there is nothing else we can do to stop you, save for asking the Guard not to let you leave,” Meriele said.</p><p>Arie’s eyes widened and her heart sped up. If the Guard refused to let her leave, they could easily bring her back to the Verdant Lord.</p><p>“Arie,” Meriele said, putting her hands on Arie’s shoulders. “I wouldn’t do that.”</p><p>Meriele pulled Arie into the tightest hug she’d ever given her. Arie hugged her back, her crutches clattering to the ground as she reached her arms around her mother’s waist. Carric walked toward them and wrapped his arms around the two of them. Arie melted into her mother’s chest, allowing her to keep her upright. The tears she’d held for the past half an hour leaked out, Arie unable to keep them in any longer. She didn’t know when she’d next see her parents, and even though she knew she had to leave, she didn’t want to leave them.</p><p>Arie had no idea how long the hug lasted, but eventually her father let go and picked up her crutches. Arie let go of her mom and slipped her arms back through the crutches, gripping the hand rests as tightly as she could. </p><p>“Stay safe,” Meriele said, smoothing Arie’s hair as they walked to the door.</p><p>“I know it’s hard, but write us when you can,” Carric said. “We want to hear about your adventures.”</p><p>“I will,” Arie said.</p><p>The three walked back into the shop. Arie paused to look at Elwin, who had stopped what he was carving. The two looked at each other and Elwin nodded, smiling slightly. Arie nodded back, then turned to the door. </p><p>“The door is always open, Arie,” Carric said quietly. “Any day, any time. I love you.”</p><p>“This will always be your home,” Meriele added. “I love you, too.”</p><p>“I love you both,” Arie said. “And it’s not goodbye. It’s goodbye for now.”</p><p>*</p><p>Syngorn looked different as Arie walked through its uneven, cobblestone streets, for what she knew would be the last time for a long time. It looked brighter, happier even. Arie herself felt lighter, despite the fact that she was carrying all her worldly possessions on her back. </p><p>The fear she felt when she passed the Verdant Guard was lessened, somehow. It was still there, lingering in the back of her mind and the pit of her stomach, but it wasn’t debilitating, like it had been two weeks or even two days ago. She could do this, she thought as she passed its massive grounds. </p><p>She, Arie Siannodel, would make something of herself. She would prove them all wrong. And most importantly, she would not let anyone crush her spirit.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you to TheCuriousNumber5 for coming up with the title!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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